The Porcelain Cowgirl
by hpmoofrog
Summary: When Bo's world is destroyed, she is forced to cope without her friends. But when the memories flood her mind and a single man threatens to kill everything important to her, can she survive only being Porcelain? Human fic BoxWoody JessiexBuzz
1. The Thrill of the Pursuit

Author's Notes: Howdy Y'all! Sorry I haven't posted this sooner. I got mahself a case of strep throat. Wow, ok, so this story came to be when once upon a time (like a few days ago during one of my classes) I was doodling in my sketchbook, and I came up with a picture that sort of looked like Bo in cowgirl apparel... So yeah, I know, pretty weird or whatever, but for some reason I'm addicted to cowboys now, and I've been watching all my dad's John Wayne movies. So yup, I came up with this human fic idea. Don't own anything… sniff.

So the dealio is that the time period is Western, on Earth or whatever, but I think some BLoSC universe stuff will come into play as the story progresses.

The chapters are arranged in kind of a weird way. It's going to go back and forth between what is happening, and what happened five years ago. The chapters that are completely in _italics _are what happened five years ago. The reason? I want to keep you suspense. ;)

Oh and P.S., it just occurs to me that this kind of sounds like the story of that "Kissing Kate Barlow" lady in the book or movie _Holes._

Love

Hpmoofrog

* * *

The rim of her hat whipped in the wind. The sun was just kissing the end of the valley. Beyond her lied a desolate canyon. She enjoyed places like these. A few years ago, perhaps she wouldn't have enjoyed it as much, but things were much different then. She'd been happy. Truly happy.

However, she was naive back then too. Weak. What had happened in that year, she was not prepared for, physically or mentally. Literally, everything had been ripped from her precious life. Everything that mattered to her was now just a memory. She had only one memento, and she made sure to keep it close. It sparkled in the sun, brightly reflecting the silver diamond ring on the sand in front of her.

The Porcelain Cowgirl was now what everyone knew of her. She got her nickname from the pale sparkly skin she had. Nobody knew what her real name was. Everyone who knew personally was neither a friend nor an enemy. Yet, they all feared her.

The delicate features of this woman ended up being very attractive, which only gave her an advantage. Her lips were always bright red, and her eyes were a pretty baby blue filled with mystery and sadness, hidden by ice. The cowgirl's hair was curly blond in a messy pattern. Her hat was a slick black, with a white strap. The rest of her apparel was similar. She wore a plain white cotton shirt, a brown vest, navy blue jeans, and signature black boots that matched her hat.

Porcelain, as only some called her, was part of the law enforcement. Any criminal that came her way may have as well become sitting ducks. Her ways were merciless, as if the woman had no reason to live other than to punish others.

Like they had punished her.

* * *

That morning, Porcelain had been leaning on her desk in city of Barkings. She hadn't really ever been appointed sheriff, but she might as well have been. The last sheriff was older, and was waiting for the opportunity to come to retire.

She was bored. No action had come through town for a week, and that made her restless. Porcelain kept herself either locked up in the office, or out in the desert. She only made rare trips to the bar or the goods store.

She took off her hat, and ran her hand through her thick sweaty locks. The heat was hardly bearable. Now she really didn't care what crook or villain came through town. Porcelain wanted something to do.

Finally, a man from town burst through the door out of breath. She tipped up her hat slightly.

"Ms. Porcelain, there's trouble down at the bank!" he said gasping for air.

She gave a slight smile. "Who's causing the trouble?" she said in a cool smooth voice.

"It's the members of the Black Cactus group again! There's a lot of 'em too!"

Her smile dropped. She would have preferred _anybody_ over the Black Cactus group. Their leader's name was Stoneheart Mafur, and he was something else. As far as she knew, Stoneheart was the only one who could intimidate her.

She'd met the group a few months after becoming sheriff. They went into town kidnapping up all the blonde females on different occasions. Porcelain got taken one night herself, but that's exactly what she wanted to happen.

They underestimated her, and she escaped freeing all the other kidnapped women at the base. Before she could get out herself, however, she encountered Stoneheart in the flesh. She managed to get away, but either this made him furious, or amused, and the Black Cactus members had been causing trouble for her ever since.

Still, they were criminals, and Porcelain had nothing else to do, so she shoved her guns into their holsters, and ran outside to climb her horse. She could see the dust rising in the direction of where they went. The chase was on.

The thrill of the pursuit kept Porcelain going, like it fueled her empty heart, but only for a little while. It was like a drug that she couldn't resist. If she didn't have it, then perhaps she might have killed herself a long time ago.

The Black Cactus group was known to travel in various sizes. The group as a whole was enormous, but only travelled all together when their base was discovered. When going on crime sprees, nobody knew if there was going to be lot's of them, or only two or three of them.

This time, the group was only five people, as far as Porcelain could tell. That was at least how many horses there were. As she gained up closer to the group, she counted six heads. That made her curious. Usually they had plenty of horses to spare. Perhaps they had left the horse back in town…

Porcelain worked her horse as fast as it could go without wearing it to death. The criminals sped up as well, and started slipping past her view. She cursed, and leaned forward in an effort to take any dead weight off the horse.

The group disappeared out of sight completely, but it didn't faze her. She knew the canyon that was coming up would give her an absolute view of where they were going. She reached the edge of the canyon near the path down it. There was a sign with chipped paint that simply stated "Crater Canyon."

With a smirk on her face, she looked out over the top of the canyon. The expression dropped from her face completely.

There was no soul in sight.

Porcelain jumped off her horse and kicked up rocks in frustration. She'd been let down twice today. The Black Cactus gang seemed to always get away without a trace.

Suddenly she detected movement from the corner of her eye. The two people on one horse she'd seen earlier were at the base of the canyon by the entrance of a cave. Porcelain practically leaped on her horse and quickly started down the pathway to the base of the canyon.

They wouldn't get away this time.


	2. Except for one Person

_Authors Notes: Why hello! I'm starting to think Bo Peep is becoming one of my very favorite characters. I don't know why, but I just like her. Or… I like my fanfiction version of her. Ha ok, whatevah, please review! This is one of those five years ago chapters, but you probably already knew that.

* * *

_

_Bo Peep was a waitress; A very popular one to say the least. She worked at the Davis county Saloon. She usually got to know many of the people who came into the bar._

_The owner of the saloon was a guy named Mr. Davis. Not many of the people knew his first name, because just after a year the place was up and running, Mr. Davis passed away. The place would have gone to his son, Andrew, but Andy was only five when his father died. The widow was pregnant, but she still took it upon herself to take care of the place._

_Bo was one of just a handful of people who worked at the saloon before Mr. Davis died._

_The first week of her working there had been an eventful one._

_Bo used to work as a shepherdess on her fathers farm. She had no mother. Her father never talked about the whereabouts of the missing mother. Her father was a sick man, and passed away when Bo was almost eighteen._

_Bo couldn't hold a farm together by herself, so she sold the farm and moved to town. She took a job as a seamstress for awhile, and then at the opening of the saloon she applied to be a waitress. Mr. Davis was hesitant on hiring her, since she was still young. Yet, Bo was very attractive, so he agreed._

_Bo had a charm with it almost immediately. By the first three days, she already knew almost all the names of the usual visitors, and fellow workers._

_Except for one person._

_Friday that week was a busy day for the saloon. Bo entered the building early that morning as she had every other day that week. The familiar sound of Slinky pounding on the old ivory keys greeted her as she got in uniform._

"_Mornin' Slink," Bo said casually. _

"_Mornin,'" he replied still playing the tune without flaw._

_Walking in was usual the crowd added with a few more travelers. At twelve O' clock, the nervous, but very large in size, Rex T. would come in because he'd said he was going to meet some friends. Upon seeing that he was early, Rex would freak out wondering if the others were going to show up._

_Then Hamm and Potatohead, the said 'friends,' would come in at twelve O' nine, bickering about something involved with politics or the economy._

_Mr. Mike would stop the feuding between the small crowd, and would announce the showgirls that would come on stage. _

_An odd pair of stepbrothers would walk in at twelve seventeen. Mr. Snake and Mr. Robot seemed as if they were already drunk before they even touched a drink._

_Rocky Gibraltar would pop in with Shark and Mr. Spell, giving an occasional compliment to Bo at twelve thirty._

_The rest came in anonymously, always the same time as the day before._

_Bo found it a little boring at first. The same thing happened every day. But she found something that was a little abnormal, to keep her life moving in the slightest. At different times of the day, a tall lanky man in an overcoat with a brown cowboy hat to match his eyes would walk in. He sometimes chatted with the other people, had a drink or two, enjoyed the show, or plain just sat in the area._

_The oddest thing about him though was that whether Bo or any other waitress served him, he would always give generous tips to Bo Peep herself. She didn't know his name. Bo had always felt confident around the other customers and learning to know them personally, but he was different._

_That Friday as Bo Peep took account of every usual customer who came to the saloon, he waltzed in, still wearing the overcoat and brown hat tipped slightly over his eyes._

_Bo thought it odd, but she always wanted to be the one serving him, like she could uncover the mystery this man held. She quickly went to the bar, grabbed a few drinks she could offer, and made her way towards the table at which he sat._

_Suddenly another man came into the Saloon. He wore a cowboy hat himself, with a yellow scarf tied around his neck, a cotton shirt, and lighter worn down blue jeans. The man looked obviously drunk when he staggered into the empty tables._

"_I need a drink down here!" he burbled, interrupting the heated argument between Potatohead and Hamm. One of the other waitresses, Ms. Troll as everyone called her, quickly grabbed a tray of drinks herself. She gave Bo a motion to go serve the drunk man, and she would cover the other odd man._

_Bo sighed. She didn't particularly want to give up examining the strange man for the day, but she agreed and went past him._

_She almost glared at this other man. He looked like he had enough alcohol for the day, but as she offered the tray he greedily took one of the mugs. Bo lingered off to the side a bit, and took a good look at this man. His belt was pretty fancy. Something on the belt caught her glance though. It was sticking out on the opposite side, so she couldn't tell what it was._

_Bo tried to crane her head without looking to suspicious. Her view traveled the room to see if anyone saw her doing what she was doing. The man in the overcoat was looking her, way, but not at her. His glare was focusing on the drunk man Bo stood next to._

_She herself took a peek at the rough face of the drunk man. He had scratching stubble on his chin, and the makings of a thick mustache. On his right eye, he had a black eye-patch. Bo couldn't help feeling she'd seen the face before._

_She continued to move her position until she could see what was poking out of the belt. Bo nearly dropped the tray she was carrying when she realized what it was._

_A loaded and cocked silver pistol gleamed at her viciously._

_Bo's first instinct was to get to Mr. Davis, or one of the other boys. It then came to her that she was overreacting, and that plenty of people had guns. However, it made her incredibly nervous, and she forgot that now she was plainly looking at the gun._

_It didn't take much longer for the owner of the gun to realize the glance._

_Out of nowhere, he burst up quickly and loudly, starting to swear like a madman. He grabbed Bo's arm harshly, and she let out a terrified squeal, dropping the tray. The glass shattered loudly. He whipped out the gun in his holster._

_The showgirls on stage screamed, and ran. The other men and women at the saloon also yelled, and hid under the tables._

"_That'll be a lesson to ya, for being a- you little," he swore madly. He raised his gun and prepared to shoot._

"_Not so fast Bart. Reach for the sky," rang out a voice behind the two._

_Bo looked back and saw the man in the overcoat, standing tall holding a gun of his own. He glared intensely through his chocolate brown eyes._

_The man still grasping Bo tightly laughed a rustic chilling laugh that sent immense shivers down her spine._

"_Sheriff Woody Pride. I should'a guessed you'd be here, a big ole' fan of the Davis,' huh?" he sneered not moving a bit from his position pointing the gun strait into Bo's chest._

_The man presumed to be Sheriff Pride stayed firm in his position too._

"_You're goin' to jail One Eyed Bart. Drop the gun and stick up your hands," he said calmly, but still strongly._

"_I don't think so sheriff. If you still want this girl's blood to be a pumpin' you had better let me get along," Bart said snickering darkly._

_Bo looked around frantically. It was obvious she was in a very bad position, and if she didn't think quickly, she'd end up being taken by this lunatic. She somewhat stumbled on her high pointy high heels. They had been bugging her all evening._

"_Bart, I'm warnin' ya. If ya don't come clean now, it'll get a little messy in this bar," said the sheriff, trying a last attempt._

"_Tarnation, sheriff, if you think-" Bart started, moving the gun slightly._

_Instinct came over Bo, and she slammed down her heel on the man's foot. He let go of her arm and yowled, also pulling the trigger of the gun. It shot of in some direction making all the people there jump._

_Bo had fallen when the man released her, and so she crawled away quickly, taking shelter under a table near the sheriff._

_The man swore very loudly, and gave a very wicked glare to Bo._

"_Somebody aught to teach ya a lesson little missy, otherwise you could get in big trouble," he said, daring to take a step towards her._

"_Leave her alone Bart. Don't make me say it again. Stick your hands up," the sheriff said loudly._

"_Sheriff, you got the hots for this girl or somethin'? Shoo, I woulda never thought you'd be one for them romantics stuff. Ain't she a pretty little thing?" Bart said shrugging off the comment. "A little trouble perhaps, but mighty fine. It's a shame."_

_The man did something unpredictable._

_He overturned the table he was next to and kicked up the dust in the room making it harder to see. Two gunshots were heard, and screams came from all directions of the room.

* * *

_

_Who shot who? :D_


	3. Very much a Threat

Author's Notes: Sorry it took a little longer. I spent some time doing 'research' watching Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Whenever the show was even on, I was at school. So anyway, I forgot to mention something last chapter. I hope it was clear that One Eyed Bart was a different character than Mr. Potatohead. I was debating on whether it should be an alter ego, or like an evil twin or something. The reason I wanted them separate is because Mr. Potatohead has his own character as the story progresses, but I also needed a villain, and I wanted to use someone from the original Toy Story. So yeah, hope it didn't through anybody off. Reviews are so appreciated! I know this is a totally different concept, but I hope people take the time to read and review! I don't care if it's one sentence. Ha, thanks!

* * *

Everything was a blur. She didn't need to see what was around her, she only need to get where she was going, quickly.

Porcelain didn't care that some people might have called her foolhardy. She didn't care about people at all. In a way you could have called her selfish, but it didn't seem like an appropriate term.

Porcelain was more dead than selfish.

She did things automatically. No ambition or dreams. Just a person trying to make the emptiness she felt in her heart hurt less. She was someone who was deep down unstable, unwilling to try again for the life she had.

She whipped down into the basin of the canyon in a flash, and started to ride to the cave. She halted the horse all at once when she was a good half a mile away from the cave.

An eerie quiet sort of feeling fell over the canyon. She looked back behind her several times to make sure she wasn't being followed, or that the criminals hadn't escaped a different way.

A loud rumbling echoed throughout the canyon. She got off her horse and looked studied her surroundings. Upon finding nothing suspicious, Porcelain was about to get back on her horse, when a rattling noise pierced the silence once again.

A few yards away was a rattlesnake. She was used to rattlesnakes in this kind of area. She shrugged off the noise, but her horse had other ideas. The panicked horse bucked up, backing up nervously. Porcelain tried to calm it down.

A gunshot tore through the air, and a body fell limp on the canyon floor, causing a loud thud.

Her horse was dead. Porcelain was angry. She continued on foot, not stopping again until she got to the cave, gun in hand.

When she was close enough, she saw a figure standing at the front of the cave. Getting even closer she noticed the features of this strange person. It appeared to be a woman, wearing a scarf and long brown coat concealing her normal apparel. She wore a brown cowboy hat. Her hair looked like dirt mixed with blood red bits. She wore it down covering her shoulders.

Porcelain saw her as a threat, until the young woman started to yell.

"GET OUT OF HERE! YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED!"

Five men filed out from behind bits of scenery. One went over the young woman, slapping her, causing her to fall to the ground clutching her fists in anger. The other men stood around the entrance of the cave, bringing the money they stole with them. It was almost as if they were luring her right into an obvious trap.

Porcelain suspected it completely. She aimed her gun at the men. "Put yer hands up ya dirty animals," she said in an icy tone.

"Ho ho, Porcelain, no need for all that. We ain't even picking for a fight," said one of the bandits, attempting to reason.

Another gunshot went off, narrowly missing one of the heads' of the outlaws. "Perhaps you should reconsider," Porcelain said in the same tone.

The criminals showed no signs of distress. They simply smiled, like they knew a huge secret.

"Tut tut, Porcelain. Ain't you even a tiny bit curious who this might be?" The man pointed a stubby finger at the young woman on the ground, with a bright red mark on her face. She didn't look up.

Porcelain wasn't moved. She didn't care if it was one of the members of the group or a prisoner from town.

The criminals exchanged looks of interest. "Doesn't she look like, one of your friends?" said one of them questioningly.

Porcelain spat. "I ain't got no friends, and I ain't gonna warn you again," she said, and then shot another bullet a few feet away from the woman on the ground.

This time, the bullet did upset the men. They started to mumble to themselves.

"She don't know her!"

"You done got her mixed up!"

"We're gonna be in a world of hurt…"

"What do we do now? What do we do 'bout her?"

The leader of the pack calmly pulled something small and shiny out of his pocket, and without a word he showed it to his comrades. They stopped talking, and all shared a very evil grin.

Porcelain was done with waiting. She fired off her gun, shooting the side of one of the men. He groaned and fell to the ground. The criminals' attention turned to Porcelain once again, and the one holding the shiny silver object pressed a little round button, making an unreal beep.

It was as if thunder were releasing all of its power upon the canyon. The large landform next to them erupted, showering rocks upon the crowd. The gang of thieves moved behind some of the things to safety. They carried the injured man and the young woman.

Suddenly the seemingly lifeless woman sprung to action, and escaped their grasp and ran. One of the bandits swore and prepared to go after her, but the leader stopped him, seeing the woman stop close to Porcelain in a heroic attempt to help. They assumed she'd just get killed as well.

Meanwhile, the shower of debris ended, and a sound of sickly crunching metal and iron filled the canyon. What Porcelain could only assume as a monster, slowly started to unfold and reveal itself from behind the part of the canyon.

A giant yellow and black metal contraption stood high above the ground. Porcelain knew it couldn't be a human, yet it had a shape similar to which a human might have. Yet, it was so inhuman at the same time, that it made her very confused. With a large chest and skinny waste, the joints were pointed and sharp.

It was very much a threat.

Unaware of the woman behind her, Porcelain muttered to herself aloud: "What on Earth is that?"

The tattered woman replied, surprising Porcelain. "May be on Earth, but nothin' Earth about it."

Even in their situation, Porcelain found bitterness. She nearly barked at the woman. "I don't need your help, if that's what you're here for. I work alone."

The other woman was headstrong. She replied in an equally nasty tone, "I can't believe this. I'm helping you after you shot at me earlier, and all you can say is no thank you? Would it interest you ta know that I actually know what that thing is?" She gestured to the large metal 'man' that was now putting off an eerie black glow.

Porcelain scowled. She didn't reply, and shot off her gun a few times at the metal enemy. It made no impression on the sleek yellow color. The woman behind her didn't quite snicker, but it the sound made Porcelain annoyed, and she turned back once again making a face at her.

"Obviously that didn't work," the woman said in reply.

Porcelain whipped her head back again at hearing the sickly crunching metal again. Whatever it was started to raise its 'arm,' and pointed its palm downward at her. She studied it. Was it trying to grab her? Perhaps if she waited till it got a little closer, she could jump on the thing and try to damage it that way…

Suddenly a faint yellow light started to appear on the hand. It started growing bigger, at least to the perimeter of the hand. She couldn't stop staring at it. Porcelain didn't know if she was immensely petrified, or amused, but she started to feel heat against her cold pale skin.

A push snapped her out of it and threw her on the floor inches away from what she now saw as a beam of yellow light. As soon as it ceased, Porcelain saw a hole in the canyon floor, smoking slightly.

It clicked in her mind that the yellow light was not a good thing.

"Are you insane!" shouted the ragged woman, who now sat next to her on the sandy ground. "You could'a been ashes hadn't I pushed ya! No living bein' could'a lived through that kinda blaster!"

Porcelain sat still in somewhat of a daze, still not focusing on anything else but the hole in the canyon where she had stood.

"What is that thing?" she said absently, forgetting her pride for a moment.

"Looks to me like a Hornet, but a really, really big one. Slower, but a heck of a lot more deadly," the other woman said.

Porcelain tried to comprehend what she had just said, but then it started to move again, this time raising one of its humongous feet, creating a shadow over the two females.

They both staggered up and escaped the crushing twisted metal.

"Alright then miss 'know-it-all,' how are we gonna go about gettin' rid of this thing?" Porcelain said, gazing up at the Hornet.

"Um…"

Porcelain looked back at the other woman in disbelief.

"You don't know?"

The other woman made no response.

"I can't believe this," Porcelain muttered to herself.

The Hornet pointed both of its 'hands' at the girls. They moved out of the way. The blast of yellow light was quicker than it had been before.

"Uh-oh," the other woman said nervously. "Look's like it's gettin' speed…"

Porcelain knew what that meant. She looked at the exit of the canyon. They just couldn't make it without being pulverized by the metal monster. Her attention changed to the cave. Dangling over the entrance were several rocks hanging precariously, threatening to fall at any crash.

"Maybe we can crush it with those rocks! We've just got to make it hit the side of the cave!" Porcelain said to the other woman. They both started to bolt towards the cave.

Another thunderous roar echoed throughout the canyon. Porcelain looked back while running and saw the object start to lift off the ground. She gasped, and ran harder.

The flying Hornet was gaining speed with every inch. It started to close up on the two. They were so close to the cave now, they just had to make it.

The woman saw they were running out of options. It would be nearly impossible to jump out of the way.

They had to go strait in the cave.

Instead of turning off, the mysterious woman kept running forward, heading strait for the cave. Porcelain followed, realizing too that there was just no other way. The Hornet was only a few meters away now.

They dove into the cave right as the metal beast caught up with them. The upper chest of the Hornet stuck inside the entrance. He was stuck, and so were the two girls.

The Hornet's eyes started to suddenly light up the same color as the beam of yellow light that had almost killed Porcelain earlier. The two froze, seeing no apparent escape.

The cave started to shake. The force of the robot hitting the cave was too much for the old structure, and rocks and stalactites fell from the ceiling.

The cave was collapsing.

Rocks toppled over the Hornet, and his yellow glow disappeared, leaving the cave completely dark. Porcelain and the other woman ran aimlessly as they heard the cave coming down behind them.

A scream tore through the rumbling of the cave. Porcelain stopped, dodging rocks.

"PORCELAIN!" yelled the voice of the young woman. Porcelain searched in the darkness desperately, trying to find the source of the yell.

She tripped on something soft clumsily, and found what she was looking for.

Through the darkness, the woman gave a desperate look. "I'm stuck!" was all the girl was able to say over the crashing.

A large rock lied on the leg of the woman. By the way Porcelain imagined it, she assumed it must have been extremely painful. She tugged on the woman's leg, trying to free it from the rock. It was just too heavy.

Her eyes had come more accustomed to the dark, and she could see ever so slightly the top of the cave coming down a few feet away.

Dark thoughts consumed her.

Porcelain could still get away. Why did she care about this girl than any other person? All people were the same. People who she cared for had betrayed her. Anyone she tried to love always abandoned her. Shouldn't she be able to do the same thing?

One simple thought kept her there, trying to help the strange young woman as the cave came down on top of them.

_She saved me, like he did._


	4. A wave of Emotion

_Author's Notes: Hey guys! Little shorter of a chapter, but this is one of those chapters you just have to get through with. I wanted a little comic relief for this intense story. So yeah. Oh P.S., the rating may change to T not because of inappropriate things, but because it involves, um, blood I guess and stuff that I don't think li'l kids wanna picture in their minds. Thank you thank you for the reviews! They are very very much appreciated! Please review if you want! It means a lot.

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_

_Bo Peep bit her red rose lips. She had been pacing for almost four days strait. She'd absently eaten, getting ketchup on her pale white cheek a few times. By the third day, Bo had just plain given up on eating. Her anxiety was enough to keep her preoccupied._

_The doctor found her annoying. He'd have to continually wave her off to go do the dishes or the laundry, to not bother him while he was treating the man. Today on the fourth day, the doctor gave her __**his**__ shirt to wash. It disturbed her a bit, to see the hole in the scarlet stained cotton shirt. She hadn't seen the man's face since four day ago, yet she remembered the face like she had a photographic memory._

_That Friday, the man who lied on the couch in her house had taken a bullet for her. _

_The scene played back in her head a million times. When all the dust had cleared, she felt pressure on chest. Bo assumed she had been shot and she was slowly dying. Voices were around her; horrible worried screaming chaotic voices._

_And then all at once, the pressure was removed from her. Lying on her preventing her view of what was going on was indeed sheriff pride, bleeding. Friends and partners alike of the sheriff picked him up and left the saloon quickly, most likely to the doctor's office._

_One Eyed Bart was nowhere to be seen. He must have escaped during all the hullaballoo, but not without a shot taken himself from the fearless cowboy._

_Bo lied there on the cold hard floor like a rock. She didn't make a sound, although she wanted to scream as loud as possible. Nobody helped her, even though she might as well have been as traumatized as the sheriff himself. The terror that filled through the very fiber of her being was something she had never experienced; something that threatened her very way of life._

_Long moments passed by. She felt some force pushing her upwards, helping her to her feet. However, when she looked back to see who was helping her, no human being was there._

_Bo left the bar in a daze, with glazed over eyes. She couldn't remember if anyone even so much as paid her any attention. She entered the Doctor's humble shack after hours of walking. The doctor was arguing with Slinky at the foot of an old mattress. There lied the sheriff, unconscious. Bo was barely aware to tell what Slinky and the Doctor were saying._

"_I'm sorry Slink! If I could help, I'd do everything in my power to help him!"_

"_Lenny, look at him! He's dying! He's the sheriff for goodness sake! If he risks his life for us everyday, shouldn't we as friends repay him?"_

"_Look at this place Slinky. Bandits have been coming into town almost every week! Gunshot wounds, burns, cuts… Woody's sleeping on an old mattress that I found in our attic!"_

_Bo looked at the two men and then back to the sheriff. Without giving a second thought, she blurted out, interrupting the two men's conversation._

"_He can stay at my house."_

_They whipped their heads around, seeing the lady in the entrance of the building. Slinky mouthed her name in surprise._

"_What did you say?" asked the doctor, blinking curiously._

"_I said he can stay at my house doctor. I can watch over him while you aren't around," Bo said sadly, blindly._

_The doctor looked anxiously at Sheriff Pride, who let out a soft moan._

"_Well, really, we only let people take in the sick if it's their family, but Woody ain't got no family…" the doctor said looking back into the soft blue eyes of the distressed woman._

"_I'll help too doc," Slink pitched in. "I can visit her often to make sure everything's going ok."_

_The doctor sighed. "…Ok, I'm just not sure it'd be good to let a total stranger watch over him," he said defeated._

"_Don't worry doctor, we're not strangers. He saved my life," Bo said solemnly._

_And so the sheriff had been lying on her couch in the living room for four nerve racking days._

_Even as only an eighteen-year-old, Bo felt like she an old woman, her life withering away sitting on the kitchen chair, hearing the doctor in the room over mutter to himself occasionally._

_The doctor stayed late that night. He kept saying that there was no hope for the sheriff, but yet he never stopped working. Bo went up to bed, peeking slightly through the living room door. She creaked up the oak wood stairs and climbed into her bed quietly._

_She rested her soft cheek on the feather pillow, sinking slightly. A few moments later, her pillow was wet with salted tears. Why was this such a traumatic experience for her? She clutched her sheets seeking comfort, breathing heavily. Her pale features were turning a sickly cold purple, and her cheeks were icy._

_It was like she was suffering the pain that the man downstairs was. Like they were connected.

* * *

_

_Bo's baby blue eyes fluttered open. She couldn't remember what she'd been dreaming about. She scanned the room carefully, and then pushed back her covers. She grabbed a candle and lit it, and then trembled down the stairs and into the living room._

_The doctor had left a note on the table next to the couch._

'_Dear Ms. Peep,_

_Thank you for your services and home. Unfortunately the gentleman has not been responsive, and I have done all I can do. Men will come in the morning to remove him from your home. His fate will most likely be put out of his misery._

_I am sorry about your loss_

_Dr. Lenny Ranft'_

_Bo sat down dejectedly, staring at the man on the couch. Why on earth did he mean so much to her? On the other hand, why had she meant something to her? Sure, he was the sheriff, and it was his job to protect people. Yet, the first place this man had gone was her direction. He went in front of her, even before he knew where One Eyed Bart was going to shoot._

_She dared to stand over the man, who was breathing very staggered, loosing more air each second. His brown leather hat sat on the floor. She picked it up protectively, and held it to her chest. She bent down on a knee, and looked at the practically dead figure._

_A wave of emotion passed over to her. She leaned in, moving his sweaty brown hair out of his face, and kissed him gently. Her closed eyes could still see every detail._

_And then a hand went up her back._

_Her eyelids popped open and she retracted back from the couch in a jerky movement. When she was composed enough to focus again, she saw the sheriff, sitting up on the couch, wide eyed holding an extreme expression on his face._

_They were both speechless._

_Suddenly the front door opened, and the Doctor mumbled as he moved towards the living room._

"_I can't believe that I walked all the way home in the pouring rain and left my house key in this stupid house," he said under his breath._

_The living room door swung open. He paused on seeing Bo and the sheriff sitting across from each other, breathing heavily and looking at himself like an explosion had just gone off.

* * *

_

_It's the kiss of life! :D_


	5. She knew it all to be true

Author's Notes: Hey ya'll! I don't have much to say right now, but that I really appreciate reviews for this story n' _A Sibling Bonding_. They make me happy. :) Anywho, here we go! Oh P.S., if you haven't noticed by now, I don't swear. Instead I write li'l happy - marks for where people swear. You can imagine a little beep. :)

* * *

Everything, ached. She'd never experienced anything like the soreness she felt now, at least physically.

Porcelain slowly regained focus, but saw nothing but pitch black. It startled her a bit, but she quickly examined her situation, feeling cords binding her hands and feet to some other object. She huffed annoyingly, starting to attempt to untie herself.

"Oooh, oy," came an unknown voice from behind her.

Porcelain didn't stop to say hello. She gave a tiny tug on the cord.

"Ouch! What're you trying to do?"

Now she recognized the voice. It was the redheaded woman that she'd risked her life for earlier. As she thought about that, she wondered where they were, and why whoever had saved them did.

"Porcelain, is that you?" called out the voice again.

Porcelain gave another tug on the cords.

"Ow! Quit it! It looks ta me as if we're tied together," said the woman.

Porcelain sighed and cursed. The situation just got a heck of a lot worse. "You don't see anything, do ya?" she snapped back.

Silence.

"Well? Have I gone blind?" Porcelain said angrily.

"N-no, it's just, we're in complete… darkness. How long do you think we're gonna be here?" the other woman said frailly.

"Dunno, maybe a day, maybe a year. Who knows?" replied Porcelain, trying to search out any light for a possible escape.

"What do you mean?" said the woman quietly.

"I mean that we're stuck here ok? I don't know how long, but thinking about it isn't gonna help! Maybe we can, stand…" Porcelain started to struggle with her leg bindings.

The other girl let out a slight whimper.

"What's the matter? If you're afraid of dying darlin,' then you _are_ going to die," Porcelain said getting frustrated.

"I'm not afraid of that. I just wish we could get out of here…"

If looks could kill…

"Alright whatever! Help me find a door or something; we're going to have to try to stand up. I think we're next to a wall…" Porcelain said, starting to push herself off the floor.

The other woman did the same. They started using the wall to slowly stand up. They were almost up when-

WHAM!

"Ow! What the heck? Why is the ceiling so low?" cried out the woman when they fell after they hit the ceiling with their heads.

Porcelain thought in the darkness.

"Quick, we're gonna scoot over to the other side," she said.

They moved over a few feet and then felt the other wall.

"We're in a box," Porcelain said quietly.

"What!" the other woman nearly yelled.

Porcelain's temper snapped. She was obviously tired of repeating herself.

"We are in a box, ok? We're in a stupid - - box! And you are not making this situation any easier for me! I coulda gotten away from the cave rocks, but you just _had_ to fall, didn't you? This is exactly why I don't associate with people! You're all idiots!" Porcelain cried angrily.

"Don't you even dare to talk like that! You are being a selfish, stupid, ignorant person! I bet you've never even experienced happiness have you? You live a long lonely life feeding your own bloodthirsty addiction to being the tough girl who never wanted anything to do with anybody! One day you're gonna wake up finding out that you _can't _handle everything on your own, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself!" The other woman said equally as nasty.

Yet, this impacted Porcelain, more than anything else anyone had ever said to her. They both didn't make a sound for several minutes. Porcelain couldn't think about trying to escape. The woman's words echoed maliciously in her head. She knew it to be all true, except for one part.

Porcelain had happiness one time. She had everything in the world and more.

Tearing the wall of silence upon the two, Porcelain began to talk, with her real voice. Anyone would have described it dead, but unknown to even herself, Porcelain's true self was very much alive.

"Have you ever taken for granted something? Something that was so special that not too many people have. Have you ever seen the ones you love die all at once? To see your town burned until there was nothing but a single diamond left in all the ashes," she said slowly, not scolding, but sadly.

They resumed the silence.

Porcelain didn't remember falling asleep. She woke up the next morning to the small whimpers of the woman behind her.

"Um," she said awkwardly, realizing she'd never even known the other woman's name.

"Jane," the girl said weakly, reading her thoughts.

"Well, Jane, are you ok?" Porcelain said, surprising herself. Perhaps it was because of the conversation they had last night she had no reason to be bitter right now.

"I-I'm ok," she said. Yet her shivers disagreed greatly.

"I can tell plainly it's not ok," Porcelain said feeling Jane's cold as ice skin.

"I'd tell you what was wrong, but _I_ can tell plainly that you would think it's the stupidest reason for being afraid in the universe."

Porcelain was about to say something she would have immediately regretted afterwards, but she bit her tongue and took a breath.

"I don't want to be angry at you, Jane. For some reason I haven't been able to come up with, you are the only person who has ever cared about me enough ta stand up to me. You coulda left me to be blown to smithereens, y'know. And right now I need to know what's wrong, even if it _is _the stupidest reason for being afraid I the universe."

Jane was silent at first. Porcelain almost lost it again, but then Jane started to talk.

"I'm… I'm afraid of the dark… ok? I don't want to talk about it. Go ahead, laugh, make fun of me, do whatever you want. I don't care."

But Porcelain remained silent.

And significantly, Porcelain slid her hand under Jane's and held it tightly.

* * *

Ok, ok, I know. Really short chapter. This particular one has driven me mad because it's one of those 'filler' guys, and I've rewritten it twice just to get the right mood and tone. Ha, I know it still stinks, but I really want to move on. Maybe I'll do it again later… Oh and another thing, I finally got a DeviantArt. I kinda really suck right now, but whateves. Mah username is still the same, hpmoofrog. I find that most people don't have that nickname for most of my profiles. :)


	6. You don't know me

_Author's Notes: Hey guys, I'd just like to say how much I appreciate everyone who has reviewed, favorite-ed (er, however that works out) or alerted this story. Thanks a bunch. :3_

* * *

_Bo Peep hadn't seen him ever since he'd left her house. She wanted to see him, desperately, but she found it might be awkward going to his own house. The sheriff had decided to stay in his house "to not burden" Bo anymore than he had. A friend checked up on him every so often._

_She went on a month with a longing in her heart. She figured he was probably pretty well healed by now, but he hadn't come to the saloon for a long time. It pierced her in a way she couldn't explain. She went on with her life, like a tree with a hollow trunk._

_And then tragically Mr. Davis died._

_Bo attended the funeral. Many were grieving over the sudden loss of a good friend, but none so much as Andrew Davis. He was very quiet the whole duration of the day. He held onto the skirt of his mother, and buried his face whenever tears decided to escape his faded blue eyes._

_The sheriff arrived at the funeral. When he did, Andy finally let go of Mrs. Davis and ran to the man with tears streaming down his five year old face and hugged the man's lower half. It tugged at the heartstrings of each woman, man, and child present._

_The man and the child left for a while. When they came back, Bo did all in her power from approaching him. She knew it was probably for the best after everything that had happened between the two. _

_Mr. Davis was buried in a cemetery in the outskirts of town. It was the same one her father had been buried it. The sheriff gave a beautiful eulogy, and then everyone left, doomed to continue on their same paths realizing too well how precious life was._

_Bo lingered behind, leaving white roses on the grave. Then she walked through the unnaturally green field, and stood in front a very small, quite plain grave. She left another bouquet of roses on the moist earth. She crouched down and touched the tombstone slightly._

_The earliest memory of her father was just the two of them, watching the sunrise in the morning. He'd say the same thing every day._

"_Now see, didn't I tell ya? The sun'll come up everyday, no matter what goes on. Let it be a lesson to ya Bo, however bad things are goin,' life goes on."_

_She tasted salty hot tears spill down her cold face._

"_How could life go on without you daddy?" she whispered silently as memories flooded her head in a matter of seconds. "People can't be replaced."_

"_I, I'm sorry."_

_Bo's head slowly rose. She turned around to find the sheriff, holding his hat to his chest. Their eyes met._

"_W-what?" she said not moving an inch from the gaze._

"_I'm so sorry. It's just, I… I saw you come here, and I shouldn't have… Well, I mean… Thank you," he fumbled out._

_Bo stood up, not flinching when he came a little bit closer._

"_Sheriff-"_

"_Woody. You can call me Woody," he interrupted quickly._

"_Woody, for everything that's happened, I mean really… I should be thanking you," Bo said, fidgeting uncomfortably._

_They stood there in silence, awkwardly, unsure whether to talk or leave. Finally Woody spoke up._

"_Your father sounded like a good man." _

"_He was," Bo said quietly._

_The wind started to pick up. A few raindrops fell from the sky, and Bo shivered slightly. Woody came forward carefully. He took off his coat and put it on her. It wasn't much warmer, but Bo appreciated it._

"_Look, what happened, was my fault. I'm sorry," he said, thinking about the kiss._

"_No, it was my fault. I was the one who, well…" she replied, coming even closer to him._

"_Um, do you think… no, never mind," Woody said still clutching his hat tightly_

"_No, it's ok. Go ahead."_

"_Uh, I was just going to ask, if well, considering what's happened, I was wondering if you'd like to just start over," he said, lowering his eyes apparently finding interest in the dirt below him._

_She made a bold move; she raised his chin to have him look at her._

"_I'd like that a lot," Bo said._

_Unsure of what to do next, Woody plainly extended his hand._

"_Howdy, my name is Woody Pride. I'm the local sheriff," he said somewhat awkwardly, only to receive the closest thing to a giggle, considering the complete sadness of the day, from the female standing across from him._

"_I didn't think you meant it completely literally, but sure. I'm Bo Peep. A-and, I guess while we're at it…" she turned to look at the grave behind her. "This is my father. He, died a year ago."_

"_I am sorry, Ms. Peep. I don't know anything about my parents. I grew up in a foster home," Woody said remembering his past thoughtfully._

"_Woody, call me Bo," she said, looking up at him with her enchanting bright baby blue eyes._

_He was about to say something when it started to rain heavily. They both ran under the porch of an old building nearby._

"_Gosh, I guess I'll run into town to get a carriage so you won't have to get wet Ms, er, Bo," Woody said preparing to get back out into the rain._

"_Well, it's ok. We can wait awhile, can't we?" She sat on the wood and patted a place next to her._

_He sat down, putting on his hat and adjusting his collar. They didn't say a word to each other for a few minutes._

"_Why did you kiss me?"_

"_What?" Bo said giving Woody a funny look._

"_I'm sorry, I didn't mean- w-why did you kiss me? I mean, ugh, why is it so hard to talk to you?" Woody said defeated._

"_Mmmm, I thought we were starting over…" Bo said, secretly wishing he'd still want to talk about that night._

"_Well, um…"_

"_I guess, I don't know. I, felt compelled to. It's something I can't really explain." While Bo talked, she subconsciously moved closer to his tall lanky figure. "Besides, you kissed me back."_

_Woody rubbed the back of his neck. He almost noticed she was moving closer to him. Almost. Bo went on._

"_I mean, you can't even really predict when you're going to kiss someone… not that I've kissed many, or, anyone other than my father…"_

_Now Woody started to move slightly towards the soft pale body. _

"_Don't know if you're the type for novels, or Shakespeare or any of that, since I really don't know you, but… Maybe I don't have to know you…"_

_And their lips pressed softly while the wind howled and the rain pounded._

_Woody pulled away with wide eyes, and pulled off his hat to run his hand through his hair. Bo looked at him questionably._

_"I'm sorry Ms. Peep. I'll go get a carriage."_

_"Woody-"_

_"Ms. Peep, you don't know me."_

* * *

_Hey, sorry, another shorty guy. Ha, this kind of reminds me of Les Miserables when Cosette and Marius meet in the abridged version, and they kiss first, then give their names to each other. :D I was also listening to 'you don't know me' performed by Michael Buble._


	7. She was crying

Author's Notes: Hey ya'll, please review! I appreciate reviews like anybunny would. :3 Yeesh, sorry it took so long. I had this done a long time ago, but Fanfiction was being, dumb with error screens. So I tried all I could, and eventually I had to go on the forums to finally know what to do to upload. So yuppity yuppers. The next chapter should be comin' along shortly.

* * *

Things got… awkward. After Porcelain and Jane ran out of things to talk about, they dropped into a deep silence barrier. The absence of sound was starting to take a serious effect on the two. Porcelain felt like her ears were burning.

A shiver went up her back. It was getting awfully cold and cramped in the box. Perhaps she should have been looking for a way out again…

"Do you feel something… wet?"

Porcelain was surprised at Jane's voice, but relieved. Thinking about silence made her ears hurt.

"Um, no, I don't think so," she replied quietly.

"Put your hand right, here," Jane said back, guiding Porcelain's fingers to a slightly damp spot.

_That's odd. Weren't we in a canyon?_

"I've got a really bad feeling…" Porcelain said.

Suddenly a small piece from the box popped out, and a tiny bit of light started filling in. But light wasn't the only thing; water started gushing in with a tremendous speed.

Both of their eyes went wide.

"We're, we're gonna drown!" Jane shouted. Porcelain could hear the panic exploding within the woman. She herself didn't feel much better.

"We hafta find a way out of here right now!" Porcelain shouted back. The noise of the water was getting louder.

The fluid was already to their ankles.

They started struggling with their restraints. Every pull or tug, though, seemed to cut their skin deeper. They moved on their leg cords. It was like trying to escape shark frenzy.

Porcelain attempted to kick the sides, and Jane pounded on the bottom. Another part of the box popped out. Jane slammed every bit of muscle into the openings. She had tried to cover them, but then a third hole was formed.

"Porcelain, what do we do?" Jane cried.

"Maybe we can push the top off!" Porcelain said frantically searching for a weak spot.

Jane nodded in agreement. They both thrust up together, hitting the top uncomfortably and toppling back to the watery ground below. They did it again, and again, and again. They were losing air, time, and will power.

Porcelain went up again, but Jane went limp, breathing heavily.

"Come on Jane!" Porcelain said desperately as the water went up over their laps.

Jane didn't respond.

"Jane?"

Porcelain bit her lip, tasting something salty. She thought it was the water at first, but it was too warm. The water engulfing them was absolutely frigid.

She was… crying.

With every bit of energy she had left, Porcelain slammed hers and Jane's bodies against the top.

A, click?

Something popped! Water started to rush in through the top of the box, filling it up completely. Porcelain took a last deep breath, and pushed with all her might. The lid opened enough for one slip through. Porcelain yanked Jane's unresponsive body trying to fit it into the tight space.

Everything in her body protested. Her system was giving up. She glanced down only to see a dark abyss. Porcelain could see the surface. It was so close, but she thought her lungs were going to burst.

One last tug, and then her eyes became blurry. She slowly drifted downwards, succumbing to the water creeping into her mouth.

Yet, through the eerie light of the unreachable air above was a shadow. It travelled downward. And then she felt herself being pulled up, even though she felt nothing on touching her.

Her body extended out of the water. Porcelain gasped, coughing uncontrollably. She could barely make out the images exploding around her.

She was in the ocean.

Next to her was a giant metal object reminding her of the 'hornet' earlier. It was smoking slightly. Part of it was open, containing several other crates like the one that she and Jane had been imprisoned.

Porcelain was dragged in, and was set collapsed on the cold moist floor. Her bindings were cut. It felt weird to be able to stretch out again.

She gazed at the figure above her, all at once remembering Jane.

"Jane… where's Jane? W-we can't leave! Where's Jane?" Porcelain murmured absently. She clutched the figure tightly.

"Calm down, she's right here. It's going to be ok…"

"Who are you?" she called hearing the unfamiliar voice although it didn't respond.

She studied the shadow. Green, Purple, white… A familiar sign struck a cord in her memory.

"Star… Command…"

* * *

Ok wow, is it just me or are these getting shorter? I'm sorry, I PROMISE I'll make the next one longer. Yeesh, not so gewd on my part. Anywho, review? :)


	8. What did you wish for?

_Author's Notes: Heyo! I was considering on following the events in the movies for this story, but I decided to shake things up. So characters might know each other before what is correct in the movies. I decided I wanted to keep things different for this story. So sorry if some of it is really weird or confusing._

* * *

_Days turned into months. Life went on for Bo, just as her father said it would. She saw Woody occasionally, still coming to the saloon every so often. She didn't ever serve him, but he still left the tip for her. Bo always wanted to refuse it, but she couldn't confront him again._

_She worked there for another few months, but then she quit and considered taking up the job offer of working as a shepherdess again for an elderly couple with a handful of others. It was difficult to decide, since she'd have to move again just when she was getting really acquainted with everyone in town. And becoming a shepherdess again reminded Bo of those last days with her father._

_Yet, she had already made unpleasant memories in this town. Perhaps it was a good thing she decided to move away from that life._

_Some people she knew stopped by, giving her wishes of good luck before she left. Bo had a gut feeling Woody wouldn't show up and she was right. Why would he come anyway?_

_So tending the sheep in the fields again relieved the stress of what she was going to do with the rest of her life. It was peaceful, lying in the pasture. Bo often thought of the three sheep back on her father's farm. Her father referred those as 'her sheep,' and she thought that special._

_Bo sat, resting against a tree, stroking a lamb beside her. This was truly better than almost being shot in some saloon._

_Off in the distance she saw a rider coming towards the farm. Mr. Bills (the owner of the farm) didn't get many visitors. She wondered who it could have been._

_And then it was him._

_Unmistakably, his tall figure, brown hat, cowhide vest and reflective sheriff badge stuck out in her eyes._

"_Why? What on Earth could you want?" Bo muttered to herself, stroking her temples._

_She stood up smoothly, unsure of how to react._

_He reached her, and stopped a few yards away. Woody pulled off his hat._

"_You might as well leave it on," Bo said, in a strange tone. "What business do you have here sheriff?"_

"_I'm sorry," he replied deeply._

"_Pardon?"_

"_Ms. Peep, I'm sorry. I've been just, stressed out. I know that doesn't excuse my behavior for the past months, but I just had to talk to you."_

"_Woody-"_

"_Don't try to take the blame. I, I don't know why I rejected you. I think I was just, afraid. It's strange because I'm not exactly the one to be afraid of anything before. When I heard you moved, I just couldn't live with myself another minute…" Woody said regretfully._

"_Woody, please. You were right, I don't know you. I acted horridly, stooping so low to kiss you before I even knew you. You talk about me like I'm worth so much more," Bo stated sadly._

"_But you are worth so much more! Ms. Peep-"_

"_Bo," she cut in._

"_Ok, Bo, I've admired you since the day I saw you. I've been an idiot, truly. I've just never, really…"_

"_Woody, just don't worry, I… Oh!" Bo looked over, suddenly remembering her duty to watch Mr. Bills' sheep. She silently counted them, and started to panic. Three were missing._

"_Is there something wrong?" Woody asked concerned._

"_Oh no, three sheep are, gone! I have to find them before…"_

"_I'll help you look," he replied simply._

_Bo got one of the other shepherds to keep an eye on her flock, and then they went off into the green pasture. They searched high and low, but the three were not to be found. It was getting dark outside. Bo ran her delicate fingers through her blonde locks, and prayed that somehow they'd show up. After another half an hour of non-successful searching, she sat down on the field, defeated._

"_Bo, I'm sorry. This is all my fault," Woody said, joining her on the soft wavy grass._

"_No Woody, it's not," Bo said, trying to make him feel better. "Hm."_

"_What?" Woody asked._

"_I was just thinking, our relationship is really weird. But Woody? I'm glad I met you."_

"_You too Bo."_

_They lied in the growing twilight, looking at the stars._

"_I don't know what I'm going to tell Mr. and Mrs. Bills. They are really nice folks, but they've been taken advantage of so much," Bo said, imagining telling the old couple._

"_I'm sure they'll understand. I'll help." Woody replied._

"_I wish you could…"_

_They sat in silence, until a shooting star passed over in the sky. Bo pointed to it, and admired the beauty. A million thoughts ran through her head._

"_Make a wish. Maybe those lost sheep will turn up," Woody said halfheartedly._

"_Mmm, ok I made a wish," Bo said, smiling ever so slightly._

"_What did you wish for?"_

"_If I tell you, it won't come true. Did you make a wish?"_

"_Perhaps… Hey Bo?" Woody said shyly. "Well, do you wanna go out, maybe get dinner, or something."_

"_I think I'd like that. For now, I s'pose I'd better go and face Mr. Bills." Bo sighed, and stood._

_They walked together, past the fields, and trees. Something rustled in the distance that caught their attention. Absent grumbles and murmurs were heard as well. Woody stepped forward, looking intensely at a moving group of bushes. His fingers brushed lightly over his gun holster. _

"_Woody," Bo whispered, her blue eyes wide with fright._

_Suddenly a crash. Woody toppled to the floor, with some unknown object on top of him. The white and green colors flashed quickly. Bo screamed, and ran forward. The two beings wrestled on the floor, until they pulled away and stuttered to their feet._

"_Buzz?"_

"_Woody!"_

_And out of the blue, three sheep came running out of the bush, and surrounded the ever confused Bo, when she wasn't sure if she was supposed to hit the unknown man, or welcome him._

* * *

_Ok, not exactly a huge chapter, but longer than some others I've done. So yeah, the fact that Woody and Buzz knew each other before Bo came into the picture is different than the real story. That's what I meant by keeping this story different…So ha, again sorry for the big holdup for my last chapter. Stupid error screens._


	9. Herding Sheep

Author's Notes: Guess what? It's Spring Break for me finally! I'm super psyched, cuz' I'm ready for summer already. So yeah, here's the next chapter, hope you like it! :)

* * *

Porcelain sputtered awake. The images came blurry at first, and she couldn't remember what happened. And then it all came rushing into her mind, causing for her to jump up, sending sharp pains through her back.

"Jane, where's Jane?" she cried, trying to put the world into focus.

"Easy, easy. She's right here, it's ok, calm down," came a voice. Porcelain started to see the face. The eyes were bright cerulean blue.

"W-who are you?" she said, starting to see a crude hospital wing. She moved again, but winced from pain, and found she was lying on some sort of broken table with a light mattress on top. Across the way was another makeshift bed, with another figure remaining motionless.

"Please, try to calm down. You can call me Chance. Take deep breaths," he said carefully.

"What happened? What is this place, and what happened here?" Porcelain asked, after she had done so. She examined his odd space attire: a green, white, and purple combination. His hair was dark, and from her point of view, he was very tall. He had very blonde hair.

"Do you really wanna know? You are from Earth. You probably don't even know what Star Command is…" he started. "I'm pretty sure I'm not at liberty to say."

"Please, I know a little… I just want to know." Porcelain knew she was lying, sort of. She knew more about Star Command than she was probably supposed to.

Chance sighed heavily. "Ok… I guess there's no reason not to tell you, at this point. Right now we are in the remnants of a highly important spaceship to Star Command. See, there has been a war, going on for about five years now, ever since Commander Lightyear was murdered on your planet. Um, are you following me?"

Porcelain breathed in heavily, and nodded silently. She tried to block out the emotional pain that suddenly came violently, but her willpower was not enough. The world seemed to slow down. She hadn't heard that name for several years.

"It was an outrage. People were furious, and naturally everyone thought it must have been committed by the commander's arch nemesis, Emperor Zurg," Chance continued. "However, it was a different group, called 'The Black Cactus,' who also originated on Earth."

Porcelain jerked up. It hurt, but she couldn't have cared less. Her head spun in a million directions, and she had a burning hate in the pit of her stomach. She clenched the sides of the table.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy! Maybe I should stop…" Chance said, shifting slightly.

"No please, continue," Porcelain said quietly, lost in thought.

"Alright… As it turned out, the commander was not killed, but instead was captured," Chance said somewhat in a trance.

The world froze. _He, was alive? Does that mean they all were alive? How… Are they still alive? _Everything was different. She wrapped her arms around herself. Every emotion possible was encircling her. She tried to swallow, but it was almost impossible. Every memory she had tried to conceal and forget for five years once again broke free and painfully made her relive the very thing she was terrified of most. And then, another fear broke out. _What if they don't remember me? What if __he__ doesn't remember me?_

"Where is he, now?" she croaked.

"We, we lost track of him completely. We do not know if he is still alive, but we do know that since his capture, Zurg's empire and the enormous Black Cactus group have started to join forces. This ship was the last escape vehicle before Star Command was completely taken over. We crash landed here in this ocean on Earth, and heard yelling from the cargo bay. How did you two get here?"

Porcelain tried to clear her throat. She talked absently, looking in Jane's general direction. "I don't know. We were about to be crushed by a collapsing cave, but somehow we ended up in one of those boxes.

"How long ago was this?" he asked.

"I don't really know. Maybe a day and a half…" Porcelain didn't really feel like talking anymore. Luckily Jane started rousing next to her, and Chance walked over to help.

Porcelain ran her fingers through her hair. She noticed her cowboy hat gone, but that didn't really matter at the moment. She moved another inch, and another ripple of pain made its way quickly through her body. She looked down at her side, seeing it bandaged up, and slightly red. She must have been cut by the box or a nail or something.

"…We were worried for your sake. It almost looked like you received a concussion, and we don't have proper medical supplies right now," Porcelain picked up from Chance's conversation with Jane.

"Well, everything is ok now. I don't even want to think where I would be if Porcelain hadn't saved us," Jane said, looking over at her smiling slightly. Porcelain tried to give a smile back, but it ended up looking more of a desperate look.

Chance cleared his throat. "Well I suppose I'd better, um, go check on, uh, the other rangers. Y'know, they were worried about you," he said turning to go. "You two should be ok in a little while, but don't move around very much. And um, Jane?" Chance gave a questionable look to the redhead, and then left quickly.

"That was, weird…" she remarked. "But I don't know, something about his eyes… So, where do we go from here?"

"I, don't know," Porcelain said, thoughts still swirling around in her head.

"Perhaps… it would be best if you went back to Barkings, and pretend this didn't happen. Maybe you could go back to your job, herding sheep or whatever it was. It looks like Star Command is also trying to handle the situation," Jane remarked, averting her eyes.

"Sheriff, actually, but I- wait... How did you know I…?" Porcelain asked.

"I… don't know what you mean," Jane said, suddenly acting like she said something she shouldn't have.

"Um, I mean, herding sheep," Porcelain said awkwardly.

"I guess you just look like you might look… Listen, this is going to be a really weird question, but ever since I've seen you Porcelain, you've reminded me of someone I used to know. It's probably impossible, since she died, and I saw her die in front of my eyes…" Jane started, while Porcelain didn't make a sound. "I just can't help feeling that you are this person, so can you tell me, are-"

She was cut off by a sudden violent slam against the whole structure of the ship. It rocketed the two off the beds and into the walls. Pain seared through Porcelain's body, as the ship rocketed back and forth, still floating on the ocean.

Another shake came, and the door was thrust open this time. Chance's voice came through the chaos.

"We're under attack! Everybody, move into position!"


	10. Too Fragile

_Author's Notes: Hey guys, thanks for all those reviews from mah faithful reviewers… um that didn't exactly sound right but whatever, ha. Um, I was thinking, y'know, I have a deviantArt under the name of hpmoofrog, (previously mentioned, I know…) and I know I haven't posted anything for a long time or whatever, but I know there are some, MANY, artists better than me… and um, if anyone has a longing desire to *cough cough, draw anything that might have been written by me, that would be really cool… Ha, ok whatever, don't worry about it. (If you do randomly have some sort of desire, then you can like, send me a message or something, but I doubt anyone really would WANT to…) Ha, ok I'm done. Here's the next chapter._

* * *

_Bo wasn't exactly sure what was going on. There she was, sitting in Mr. Bills' kitchen listening to the soft whispered voices of in the next room. Mr. Bills offered her some cream, and she absently agreed while trying to pick out what the voices were saying._

"_Oh bah, child. Pay no attention to them. There is probably a good reason they are discussing in the next room," Mrs. Bills said starting to clear plates off the table._

_Only a half an hour earlier, even though the lost sheep had been found, Bo felt like she needed to talk with the elderly couple. Woody and the other mysterious man had come along, and then Mrs. Bills had them come in for dinner. And then the two men went into the living room, discussing 'important matters.'_

_Woody had yet to even introduce the strange man._

_Bo ran her fork across her ceramic plate, creating a tiny unpleasant noise. Finally, the men came from the other room._

"_Bo, I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll, see you later ok?" Woody said uncomfortably, putting on his brown coat._

"_Oh, ok… Woody?" she said, extending a hand as he and the other man started to go out the front door. He looked back at her somber face. "Do you, still want to go on that date? Tomorrow maybe?" she asked hopefully._

_He looked back at the other man, waiting outside the door, and then back to Bo. He sighed heavily._

"_All I can do is come by tomorrow, Bo. I promise, we'll go on that date soon," he said with a heavy heart. He waved goodbye, and they left into the night with the quiet voices of livestock in the background._

_Bo looked back down at her uneaten food. She didn't feel like eating at the moment, so she excused herself and went to the bed provided for her in the home. As she sat in the darkness, she couldn't help thinking of the very night Woody had slept on her couch with a gunshot wound._

* * *

_She awoke to a knock at the front door. Bo didn't know how early it was in the morning, but no one else was up yet. She pulled on a robe and tiptoed to the source of the noise._

_Sheriff Woody Pride stood at the door._

"_When you told me you were coming by today, I didn't think you meant this early in the morning. What is it, four o' clock?" Bo said, trying to light up the serious face the sheriff wore on his face._

"_Bo, I'm leaving town," Woody said, eyes dropping to the ground._

"_What?"_

"_I don't know how long I'll be gone, but it'll be… awhile…" he said, avoiding her shocked look._

"_Does this have to do something with that other man you failed to introduce to me last night?" she asked bitterly._

"_Bo I-"_

"_Because Woody, I think you're keeping something from me. No, I __**know**__ you're keeping something from me."_

"_Bo, it's complicated. I can't explain it. You wouldn't understand…" Woody said, biting his tongue at his words._

"_Because I'm stupid?"_

"_No, I mean it's just, I can't…" He said defeated._

_Bo took a deep breath._

"_Just, don't come home with a gunshot wound, ok?" She said with her head lowered._

_He put her hands in his. "I won't, I promise. I'll come home as soon as I can," Woody said sadly. And then he left, getting his horse and riding off back towards town._

_Bo sat down at the table, thinking intently on what had just happened. Thoughts ran through her mind, that she shouldn't have been thinking about._

"_I trust Woody, don't I? He's not going off to do something stupid…" she mumbled to herself._

_And then Bo Peep walked up, and started to write a little note on a scrap piece of paper, and left it on the counter. She grabbed a satchel and filled it quickly with random tidbits of food and supplies. She felt under the couch, finding Mr. Bills old pistol. She felt bad for taking it, but she wasn't exactly sure what she was doing at the moment. Bo put on jeans and cowboy hat, and snuck out of the house undetected, and climbed on one of the horses and raced off._

_**What am I doing? I'm such an idiot! What on Earth is going to think? **__She thought to herself._

_The sun finally started to peek up over the edge of the family. Bo only prayed that Woody would still be there, and somehow she could talk him out of leaving to who knows where. She finally reached the town, where only the early-birds started to go about their business for the day. She hoped nobody would recognize her in such ridiculous clothes. Women in jeans? That'll be the day…_

_Finally she came up to the old bar she used to work at, still running with the absence of the death of its owner. Bo walked in casually, trying not be noticed. She walked in the same oak doors, hearing Slinky play on the ivory keys. She slipped around, and approached the man on the piano._

_Slinky, not looking away from the music, but seeing a figure out of his peripheral vision, calmly stated, "If you need somethin' you don't wanna go around talking to me. I just play the music."_

"_Slinky, it's me," Bo whispered, trying not to draw attention to herself._

_He stopped abruptly, causing the showgirls on stage dancing to the music to tumble over themselves. They all gave annoyed looks over to his direction. He tipped his hat and walked over, grabbing Bo's arm and pulling her over to an empty employee hallway._

"_What are you doing here? It's great to see you, but- what are you wearing?" he said, squeezing her hand slightly._

"_Have you seen Woody, Slink? Has he left yet?" she asked desperately, ignoring his questions._

"_How do you know about the mission?" Slinky said suspiciously._

"_Please Slinky, has he left yet? Do you know where he is? I've got to talk to him!" she cried, tucking her loose hair up into the cowboy hat she was wearing. Although she was preoccupied with the fact she had no idea when Woody was leaving, Bo slightly wondered what Slinky meant by the word 'mission.'_

"_Bo, I'm not sure you, of all people, should be getting involved. You're too fragile, even to just be at the port. I still can't believe Woody told you about all of this. He came in here last night late wondering what he was gonna say to you…going out for a year y'know…" Slinky said sadly recalling seeing the sheriff sitting at a table alone, completely at war with himself._

_Bo gasped at the last thought. An entire year, Woody would be gone. Why hadn't he told her? _

"_Slinky, I'm begging you. I have to see him…" she pleaded._

_He sighed, and took her hand. They went down the hallway, into another room Bo had never been in before even while previously working at the place. It looked like some sort of lounge for the dancers to relax in between shows. Slinky took off the small mirror in the corner of the room, revealing a little white button. He pressed it, and unnatural sounds started filling the room. It seemed like an earthquake was going on, and Bo held on to the table next to her._

_A staircase from the concrete floor started forming, leading down into a dark corridor. The shaking stopped all at once._

"_Go all the way to the end and you'll reach the launching pad," Slinky said, almost regretfully._

_Bo almost jumped for joy. She ran over to him and gave him a hug, and then started to rush down the stairs._

"_Bo!" Slinky called out. "Please, be careful…"_


	11. They were Soaring

Authors Notes: Hey guys. Sorry this took a little longer, I went on vacation. Anywho, I made a fantastic discovery today. If you are a fan of my "Finding Bo Peep and her Lost Sheep," story, SwanPinkie on Deviantart has started to draw a comic based on the fic. I was super psyched when I saw it, and I'm very excited to see how it turns out. So yup, that's it for now folks.

* * *

It came so fast.

As soon as one unreal blast came, the next came even faster. Porcelain tried to stand as best as she could, although she could already feel her wound opening back up. She leaned against the wall, looking out at the frantic Space Rangers.

Porcelain looked back at Jane, who was also having struggles trying to stay upright. Porcelain did her best to make her way over to Jane, and they both tumbled their way to the doorframe.

And then, silence. The tumult stopped immediately, and everyone held their breath.

One of the doors burst open, and through came what Porcelain remembered as what Jane and her had encountered at the canyon, except much smaller. All the Rangers used some sort of weapon on their suits, and the Hornets did the same. She pulled out her gun, only praying it would work against the things.

One of the things noticed the two the women, and approached quickly. Porcelain shot a few times, finding out the bullet was not enough to penetrate the armor. She threw down her gun, and rolled up her sleeve. As it ran closer, she punched the hard metal, throwing it to the side.

"Why didn't it shoot?" Jane asked while trying to disconnect the Hornet's weapon.

"I don't know, but I'm sure not as heck doing that again," Porcelain said, rubbing her sore fist slightly.

Jane slipped on a yellow piece of the Hornet, and then started shooting out in the crowd. Porcelain tried to say something, but Jane was already gone, and she huffed, annoyed at being helpless.

She glanced down at her waist again, where the white bandage was slowly getting redder. It hurt, but she bit her lip and tried to find some other weapon.

Suddenly she saw Chance pull Jane aside in the chaos filled room. They were arguing, and by the looks of it, he didn't want her to fight. Porcelain sighed and snuck around. Occasionally a Hornet or two would spot her, but they never shot at her, and usually the distracted robots would get shot by something or someone.

As she approached the two, Jane noticed her and said, "Porcelain, you know I'm capable enough to handle myself, right?"

"You are still injured, and you are not a Ranger. You two should probably get out of here. We have an escape pod…" Chance argued back, pressing a button on the wall creating a little doorway into a small yellow cabin.

"Are you insane? We're not gonna leave now while things are like this!" Jane shouted back above the noise.

Porcelain stayed silent. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about the matter.

"Look, I know some people that can help properly with your injuries," Chance replied. He noticed the red blotch getting bigger on Porcelain's torso. "Porcelain, you especially need to get out of here."

A loud yell echoed through the ship, and ceased all the fighting. Chance shoved the two into the escape pod and stood in front of the door.

"I know they're on here somewhere. Tell me now!" shouted the harsh voice.

Porcelain poked her head out. A blue man with one arm larger than the other was clutching a Ranger, pushing him against the wall. The other Rangers were being held back by the millions of Hornets.

"W-we don't know w-what you're t-talking about…" the man being held choked out.

"Pathetic. We know you snuck both of them on by cargo," the blue man said. Porcelain gasped silently, and looked back at Jane who had also heard the message. "Listen, I don't want things to turn out uglier than they already are. The boss has been restless, and my job is kinda important to complete, so fork over the girls and this will go over easy."

The Space Ranger stayed silent.

"Alright, if this is how you want it," the blue man said wickedly, dropping the man. He started to violently kick him, causing the other Space Rangers to erupt. However, no matter how hard they tried to get to him, the Hornets fought back hard.

Porcelain was enraged. She popped out about to kick the trash out of the blue man, but Chance pushed her back into the escape pod.

"You can't go out there! They are looking for you!" Chance shouted.

"He is gonna get killed Chance, for me! I'm not gonna be the damsel in distress here!" Porcelain shouted back trying to push him out of the doorway. She could see over his shoulder the blue man holding up the wounded space ranger and throwing him across the room.

"CHANCE LOOK OUT!" Jane suddenly screamed, and she pulled on his suit and he fell inside the pod. A flash of that familiar yellow light streamed the exact path where Chance's head was.

Chance reacted quickly. He used a weapon on his suit similar to the yellow light, and it destroyed the Hornet standing at the doorway to the pod.

Suddenly many Hornets started to appear, and they all aimed their lasers. Chance jumped up and put his hand on a scanner. The door seemed to close in slow motion, as suddenly a huge amount of different light beams made their way closer to the three panicked people in the pod. Porcelain clutched anything she could get a hold of, and closed her eyes.

And then they were soaring.

A kind of unnatural feeling entered Porcelain's stomach. She knew they were going much faster than any horse could travel. They hurled through the air going ever upward. Porcelain was sure she was going to throw up.

All the sudden, they started rocketing downwards. Porcelain prayed they wouldn't crash too badly. The impact was brutal. The three were shot up hitting the sides and ceiling of the pod, and then they tumbled back down, out the suddenly open door on to the wet substance Porcelain could only predict was mud.

Porcelain looked at her hand that had been placed on the incredibly painful wound on her torso. It was completely red.


	12. She never looked back

_Author's Notes: Hey guys, I know it's been too long, and I have a reason that I don't particularly want to discuss, but it has something to do with the tornadoes in Alabama… and me being extremely sick… But I'm determined to finish this, even if it might be my last story (though I sincerely hope not). Anyway, thanks for your support, and reviews are awesome._

* * *

_She didn't know how long it had been. It seemed like she had been running down the corridor for hours, and her stamina was giving out on her._

_Bo Peep finally saw a speck of light, and ran until it got gradually larger, and she was able to see what could have been assumed as a busy railroad station. But this was no train._

_She got to the opening, and tried to conceal herself behind a wall corner at the beginning of a different hallway. Men and women both scurried around everywhere, wearing curious apparel. The women looked odder than how Bo was dressed herself. A green and white contraption sat in the center, and people were getting on and off every second. People were pushing carts holding who knows what, and others were buzzing nervously._

_Suddenly across the room strolled in a figure, which caused everybody to stop and salute. She recognized the man as the stranger that had been with Woody. She squinted her eyes, and sure enough not too far behind was Woody himself._

_This was it. She had to talk to him, and not get caught at the same time. Bo took a deep breath, and then started to count down from three._

"_3…2…1…" Bo breathed, and…  
_

"_Ooof, hey, watch where ya going!" called a voice from behind her after she'd been shoved in the back suddenly. Her cowboy hat flew off, landing a few feet in front of her._

"_Bo? Is that you?" the voice asked quieter._

_She whipped around to find Mr. Potatohead, pushing a big cart full of questionable items._

"_Potatohead! What are you doing here?" Bo whispered, grabbing the fallen hat and yanking it on her head._

"_What are __you__ doing down here? You shouldn't be here…" he said checking the cart for any damages._

"_You know about this place too? Jeez, did everybody know about this place but me? Nevermind, I don't have time for this, I have to talk to Woody before he leaves…" Bo said, looking back at spot where he was. He wasn't there anymore; they must have gotten onto the weird contraption._

"_Huh, figures you'd be here 'cause of that guy." Mr. Potatohead said back. "You really should get out of here Bo. This isn't a place for people-"_

"_Like me?" Bo cut in bitterly._

"_Exactly. So if I were you, I'd just go home. I'll tell him you miss him, and after a year he'll be back and you won't ever have to worry about this place ever again," he replied._

"_Wait a second, you're going?" Bo said, eyeing the cart._

"_Whoa, no way. I know what you are thinking, and I'm going to let you know now there is no way I'm going to help you get onto that ship. I'm not even going, I just have supplies…" he trailed off looking at her big baby blue eyes._

* * *

_Five minutes later…_

* * *

"_I can't believe I got caught up in this mess. Remember the agreement though: my name never comes up in this 'serious' conversation you are gonna have," Potatohead whispered, wheeling the cart with a white blanket over the top down a hallway in the ship._

"_Yeah yeah, whatever. Just let me off in a closet or something…" came Bo's muffled voice under the blanket._

_A few moments later the lights went off and Bo heard a door close._

"_It's ok to come out now," Mr. Potatohead said, turning on a light while Bo clambered out of the cart. She turned to go until Potatohead caught her arm. "I sure hope you know what you're doing, 'cause I'm not. Don't be an idiot Bo, ok? When you get involved with space, you're going in way over your head. They have bigger problems than we do here,"_

"_Well, thanks… I think…" she replied._

"_Oh and don't forget, I'm not going to be here when you get back. I'm not staying around for the launch."_

"_Thanks Potatohead," Bo said quietly, and then she dashed out the door._

_She never looked back._

_The violent blurs of doors and hallways travelled quickly through her mind. Sometimes Bo would have to duck behind some object or door to avoid unwanted company, but it didn't happen too often. She figured if this metal object everyone called a 'ship' was anything like ships that sailed on water, all the important people would be in one specific place, and by the looks of it earlier, the other man and Woody were important people._

_Finally she stumbled to a door that said stated 'Meeting Room' on it with fancy lettering. Her fingers brushed the doorknob. She was terrified to be quite frank. Just then some scurrying was heard down the hallway. Bo looked up and down the hallway, finding no things to hide behind. She pressed herself against the opposite wall, and prayed silently._

_A little green figure appeared, and Bo thought she was dreaming. It was wearing a blue jumpsuit and had three eyes and an antenna poking up on its head. Bo wasn't sure what was what at the moment, but the little green man looked distraught at the moment, and it ran closer and closer._

_Somehow it was oblivious to her existence._

_Bo held her breath as the little green man approached and burst through the 'Meeting Room' door, leaving it slightly open._

"_Commander! Commander! Emergency situation!" cried the voice Bo could only assume as the odd green man._

"_Calm down boy, what is it?" asked a much deeper and gruffer voice._

"_There have been detections of an intruder on the ship! It could be a spy!"_

"_A spy? This mission is too important! Get everyone you can to find that intruder at any cost!"_

_Bo suddenly didn't think this was such a good idea anymore._

* * *

_Oh snap..._


	13. They didn't let go

Author's Notes: Howdy beans… I'm gonna be honest, I'm a little depressed. Not really or whatever, but there have been some family struggs going on… Reviews please? I know some people hate Bo Peep, or whatever, or they just don't normally review… (cough cough… I'm such a hypocrite…) But they really do mean a lot to me. Thanks.

P.S., .Banana, you're awesome! :3

* * *

"You know, if you hadn't moved around so much your wound wouldn't be so bad," Chance said quietly, placing a new bandage around Porcelain's waist.

She replied with a sharp huff.

As soon as Chance, Jane, and herself landed, they checked for injuries and made a campfire as the sun went down.

"So tell me again why the pod made us land here when it was supposed to take us to a town a few miles away?" Jane asked Chance.

"I already told you I don't know. Those coordinates were made a few months back. We have ties with the town there. See, Star Command has connections with a few towns incase people need refuge. However, it can be dangerous if the enemy finds out that the town is harboring fugitives. Nothing has ever been too serious, except for, one occasion…" Chance explained, trailing off into thought.

"The time Lightyear was supposedly killed?" Porcelain tried.

Chance nodded.

The three sat in silence, occasionally poking the fire with a stick. Porcelain snuck glances at Jane, remembering the question she was going to be asked right before the ship was attacked. Jane tugged at her hair nervously…

"Well, there are blankets in the escape pod, but I'd better go find some shelter. If something happens just yell and I'll be here in a flash," Chance said breaking the silence while getting up and walking off into the woods surrounding them.

"Be careful," Jane added, and then he was gone. "Don't know why we can't just use the blankets," she muttered after he left.

"Jane…" Porcelain said blankly. "He's gone now…"

"Well, yes, I reckon he is."

"Didn't you have a question you were going to ask me?"

"Oh yeah, just forget about it… I was feeling a little weird, so I honestly don't even know what I was asking exactly. It was ridiculous anyway," Jane said twiddling her hair between her fingers.

"I don't care if it was ridiculous; I don't mind if you ask me Jane. Go ahead," Porcelain replied anxiously.

"Porcelain, it was just one of my impossible daydreams. You can't be the person I thought you might have been for a many number of reasons. Just forget it."

"Please, if it were about any other question I'd shut up right now and forget about it but dangit Jane! This is important!" Porcelain stood up, her temper rising.

"It doesn't matter now ok? Why on Earth do you wanna know? Doesn't it occur to you that it might hurt to remember how one of my best friends killed herself when I almost had the chance to prevent it? She's gone! I'm not gonna kid myself anymore!" Jane yelled back, now standing as well.

"You are so cotton-pickin' stubborn! Don't tell me I might not know it hurts to talk about death, 'cause I've seen plenty of it in the last five years alone!"

"Maybe you've just lost all of your freakin' emotions! I know you aren't my friend, because she was never like you! She didn't have a bad bone in her body, and I have never seen anyone love someone like she did! I've wasted my time thinking that she might even remotely be you!"

Porcelain suddenly felt her anger melt, regardless of what Jane had just said.

"Maybe, death changes people…" She said quietly.

Jane's eyes dropped to the ground. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"I know Jess, I'll drop it. Let's just, try to forget about it. It hurts to remember the past," Porcelain said sadly, not realizing the remarkable thing she had accidentally said.

"W-what? Jane exclaimed, her bright green eyes growing wide as dishes.

"I'm saying you're right. It's time for me to stop lingering in the past. I need to move on with my life. My tragedy happened long ago, and I have to forget it. I-I just, don't know how I'll ever be able to…" Porcelain sat down, covering her face. "Perhaps, it might be for the better, for the both of us, if we parted ways… Every time I look at you it brings back memories that haunt me, and I don't know how much longer I can live with myself thinking of those things,"

"B-but, h-how? I… I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't m-mean…" She said the words, mostly to herself not even hearing what Porcelain was saying. Jane started shaking, and she sat down too. Tears formed in her eyes, and her words came out funny.

"Hey, are you ok? Look, I know we've been through, well, a lot together in the past three days alone but…" Porcelain said looking up.

Jane didn't respond. She tried to breath.

"Oh my gosh, Jane are you alright?" Porcelain got up to crouch over Jane. "What's the matter? Should I call Chance? Jane!"

Jane clutched her stomach, and then looked up at Porcelain.

"B-Bo? I-is that r-really y-you?"

Porcelain felt the world freeze. She didn't make a sound, even though her mind was screaming a million things.

"Y-you called m-me J-Jess…" she said slowly, tears streaking down her face. "I thought you were dead…" she whispered.

Porcelain didn't think twice. She thrust herself on Jane, hugging her as tight as she possibly could. Jane squeezed back using the little energy she had left. Her tears stained Porcelain's clothing.

"B-but how?" was all Porcelain managed to get out.

"I-I s-saw you j-jump off a cliff…" Jane cried. "I d-don't know!"

They didn't let go.

For a good ten minutes the two reunited friends sat in silence in each other's arms, trying to calm their emotions.

"Please, tell me one thing," Jane said after they finally let go. "How are you, alive? I saw you with my own eyes, jump. I thought you were…"

"I… tried. It was a miracle. I fell down, knocked myself out and some locals found me. I got away with just a few broken bones. They took me into a town called Barkings, and I, changed," Porcelain said quietly

* * *

(_Quick note from the author: since you know that Jane and Porcelain are Bo and Jessie, I'll be calling them that from now on…)_

* * *

"Why though?" Jessie said quickly, regretting it slightly.

"I couldn't, live without all of you. I thought you died from the explosion! The entire town was obliterated… And really I _knew_ you were dead, until Chance told me about Buzz… Oh my gosh, Buzz. Are they really all alive Jess? What happened?" Bo asked sadly.

"Well, after you left, a beam of light appeared and all of the residents were taken in a flash. After that I s'pose the town was beaten to a pulp. We were all confined, away from each other, but we always tried to communicate through the walls. The Black Cactus, they controlled us. We're still not sure why they took us… As soon as they learned about you, they've been trying to capture you since."

"How did they learn about me?"

Jessie's eyes lowered. "Woody, was tortured. We all were, but when one day Woody mumbled something about you in his sleep, _he_ was curious. He wanted to know all about you. I remember seeing Woody being dragged through the bars of my cell. Everyday we would hear his yells, but no matter how much he suffered, he never said anything but 'my blue eyed blonde beauty.' It was, horrifying." Soft tears ran down her face.

"Jess…" Bo cried, letting tears splatter down her porcelain face as well.

"I escaped. Leaving the others behind was painful, but I figured I had to find help, and then I stumbled upon, you. You were weeping, and I didn't say a word, and then you started to run. And I tried to follow you, but I wasn't fast enough… and then I saw you jump. I ran over to the edge of the cliff and screamed your name. Then someone grabbed me, and dragged me away. I screamed and cried, until eventually I was back at the Black Cactus fortress.

"Buzz was sold to Zurg. I don't even know if he's still alive. They locked me up in the dark, until one day I was taken out and told I was to be used as bait. He believed you were alive… but I knew you weren't. I knew I was going to just have to go back to my prison, and I lost motivation, until I saw you. They talked about you, and when I saw you, my feelings betrayed me, and somehow I was angry, that you were there to torture my mind. You shot at me y'know…"

"Jessie, I'm sorry, for every mean thing I ever said. I can't help thinking this is all my fault. If I had stayed in town, at least I would've been with you this whole time. I have to fix this," Bo said, clenching her fist at the thought of her previous encounters with the Black Cactus.

"It's not your fault for anything! Nobody caused it to happen, but he's obsessed with you Bo. I don't know why, but that man will do anything to find you, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have good intentions," Jessie said nervously, tugging at her hair again.

"So what do we do now?"

"I guess for now we wait for Chance to come back, and then we'll go into town tomorrow morning."

"Alright… Jessie?"

"What?"

"Thanks for everything…" was all Bo could come up with.

* * *

_Yay! A longer one! I knew this chapter had to be important._


	14. I Promise

_Authors Notes: I love your guys' reviews! Thanks so much! Um, this chapter was kind of weird, but I needed to get past it so we can get to the good stuff in the future. Yup._

_P.S. Things are going a little better now._

* * *

_So there she was, running down the hallway as fast as she could._

_Alarms started to go off, and Bo officially decided it was ok to panic. She ducked through hallways, listening to the noise of feet running by. The network of hallways and rooms was a maze, and Bo felt like she was running in circles._

"_I think we can pinpoint the location of the visitor if we look for foreign material. According to witnesses, this female appeared human, and might have been wearing cowboy clothes," said a strange voice from around the corner, causing Bo to pause and listen in to the conversation._

"_Cowboy clothes? Woody, I don't know much about the women on Earth, but I seem to recall women never wearing cowboy clothes..." Another voice spoke, and Bo responded to the name 'Woody.' Despite noises travelling through the chambers coming closer, she stayed put._

"_I don't know, but I'm going after her. Since she's human, she's crossing my turf." Woody's recognizable, and slightly harsh, voice made her clear her throat nervously._

"_Well I guess she'll be easy to recognize, like a needle in a haystack," replied the other voice. Bo gave a curious look._

"_Uh, Buzz? I think you have it a little mixed up."_

"_A haystack in a needle? That doesn't even make sense. Your expressions are weird…"_

"_Discuss it later, you two. I'm getting a reading… oh, gosh," said the strange voice. "It says she's right around the corner."_

"_What? Let me see that… Buzz, take that side. I'll go the other way and we'll corner her." As soon as Bo heard Woody say that, she didn't loose another moment, and started running for the hills again. She was especially confused at the fact that they found out where she was without actually seeing her._

_As she scrambled away from approaching footsteps, she looked for a door that she could hide in. There was a ton of doorways, but no knobs._

_A red man with the same suit as everybody else walked through a little doorway, leaving the strange opening available for a few seconds. The red man saw her and dropped what he was carrying. She sprinted through the door, and it closed. Bo looked around trying to figure out how to keep it closed. She saw a large glowing block holding a few suits in it, and moved it in front of the door._

"_What am I doing? Potatohead was right, I should have never done this," she mumbled to herself._

_Bo's running came to a screeching halt when a fence blocked off a large, deep pit filled with people bustling fiddling with contraptions. A large window practically covered an entire wall. When she saw outside the window, Bo let out a little gasp, and her eyes grew wide._

_Stars._

_Voices coming from behind the door she closed off brought her out of her shock. Bo leaned on the railing, afraid and weak. She forgot about the gun she had conveniently in her belt._

_Bo wasn't sure if the pounding she heard was from the door or her own heart._

_The door burst open due to some explosion, blasting bits everywhere onto the floor in front of her. She lost her grip on the railing, and as flashes of green and white went by, she felt the world melting and blurring beneath her eyes. Wind blew in her hair, as she was forever falling…_

* * *

_Her eyes fluttered open, remembering everything, and yet remembering nothing. Woody stood there with a concerned look right above her. A blaring light shone overhead._

_She lifted up a wobbly hand with smudges of red on it, and Woody took it with his own. Bo felt herself being carried on a platform now, unaware of how she got in the position._

"_Woody…" she said weakly. "I'm…s-sorry."_

"_Don't talk, it'll be ok," he replied, squeezing her hand lightly._

"_I h-had to talk to you... d-don't go…"_

"_I'm not going anywhere Bo, I'm staying here with you."_

"_...Promise?"_

"_I promise."_

* * *

_The white ceiling in the hospital wing was oddly comforting. She wondered how long she had been out. Bo looked down to find bandages wrapped on parts of her body. She sighed, wincing. She lifted her hands to view them. Bo let a tear slip down gently, thinking about the entire ordeal._

"_What's wrong?" Woody's voice said gently from the corner._

"_Woody, I…" she replied looking at him sitting in a chair. "It's a mess isn't it? Now I know why you didn't want me know about this. I'm, porcelain, just like everybody else said." She closed her eyes, breathing in a way she had never before._

"_I should've told you about this place a long time ago. I was just afraid that you would get…hurt…"_

"_I understand. Maybe it would have been better if we never met. You wouldn't have got shot, for one thing…"_

_Woody stood up and held her hand and shook his head slightly._

"_You want to know the truth? About everything and this place?" he asked quietly._

_She nodded, not getting any sound out anymore. He rubbed away a tear on her pale face._

"_Well, I met Buzz a long time ago, and to be honest, we were complete enemies. He kept thinking he was this wacky 'space ranger' and I tried to convince him he was just an insane guy." He sat down next to where she was laying. "We got kidnapped by a deranged teenager into explosives and eventually got out of it, alive somehow. And, I found out he was a space ranger part of the galactic alliance defending the galaxy from Emperor Zurg..." Woody stopped to examine Bo's look of understanding._

"_Why didn't anybody know about this?" she asked._

"_I guess ignorance is bliss… Buzz and I became friends, and he built a port for us to keep in contact, and to hide refugees. The reason I went along on this trip is because Zurg claimed to know the location of my sister…"_

"_But, you don't have a sister…"_

"_Yeah, I grew up in an orphanage, but we saw the girl, and no matter who it really is, whether it is a trap or not…When a life is at stake, no person should ever disregard it." Woody stood up and let her fingers slip through and drop._

"_What will happen?" she asked softly._

"_I don't know Bo… But whatever happens, I will protect you no matter what."_

* * *

_I was listening to Tron: Legacy music. The song called father and son is particularly good for the last part._


	15. She thought she knew so much

Author's Notes: Guess what? I'm an aunt! Again… Anywho, the baby had some complications with an infection and a skin condition thing, so I've been back and forth to the hospital, and I haven't had anytime to write. Plus school ended yesterday… So I'm pretty worn out, but with summer here, I'll update more often, I promise.

Thanks!

* * *

Bo stayed up extra late that night. She looked up at the stars while next to Jessie's sleeping body. She had tried to sleep, especially after Chance got back in vain in search for a suitable place to stay. Bo and Jessie decided that their discovery was to stay a secret in front of him. It was quite difficult not to address each other by their real names.

The slight breeze made her shiver slightly.

Bo was lost in thought, wondering what it would be like if everything went back to the way it was. Living in a small town, where the community would all meet together at the old saloon. It was hard to imagine having a normal life, even having a family. So many things had happened that were beyond her comprehension…

She thought she knew so much about the world.

"Bo? Are you still awake?" suddenly whispered Jessie next to her.

"Yeah, I can't sleep… I've had a lot to think about," she replied.

Jessie sat up. "Hey, don't worry about it. Things'll turn out, especially now that we're together."

Bo sat up too, and checked to make sure Chance was still asleep.

"There are so many things, that I wanted to tell him. I was an idiot. I was scared, like the coward I've always been. I'm sick of being the one everyone has to risk their life for," she said rubbing her face with her hands.

"It was just some nervousness. Bo, you're stronger than you think you are. After all, you carried on after you thought we were all dead, and what'd you do? Become a sheriff! That's pretty noteworthy… It's been a pretty crazy day. Waking up in a ship and escaping death, numerous times, and finding out a long lost friend was with you all along. You should get some rest. Tomorrow we'll sort everything out."

"I hope."

* * *

They received strange looks as the trio travelled through the small town the following morning. Chance led the way, taking them to a little bar, bringing feelings of nostalgia to Bo especially.

As soon as the doors swung open, a voice yelled out. "Hey! Look everybody! It's Chance!"

Several others added a shout of 'Howdy' or 'Hello,' and then resumed their conversations. A short waitress with purplish hair, a scruffy orange dress, and brown cowboy boots, walked over holding up a tray.

"Wondered when you'd be stumblin' upon this bar again," she said. When the waitress noticed Bo and Jessie lingering behind, she added sarcastically, "Guess you've worked on your pick-up lines…"

"Very funny, Dolly, they're just friends. New dress?" Chance asked her.

"Yup. Bonnie's learning to sew from her mother, and she wanted me to wear it. Ain't it a beaut?" Dolly replied, grabbing the edge of the dress and twirling it slightly.

"Yeah, it's nice of you to do that. I don't think I would trust a six-year-old's fashion sense." The three were led to a table, and they sat down.

"So, what's the news?" Dolly said, laying down mugs on the table.

Chance's voice got quieter. "Actually… Dolly, you're going to have to keep this on the low until I leave. We might have to evacuate this town. Star Command has been, destroyed."

Dolly's eyes widened, and Bo and Jessie exchanged concerned looks.

"But, what's gonna happen to… Earth?"

"We can't worry about that right now. Listen, as soon as I leave, you need to get everyone to leave. We landed to close to this town when we escaped, and it's only a matter of time. I don't expect them to be here in at least a day or two," Chance said.

"Ok, but… Don't do anything stupid, ok?" And Dolly left.

"What is the plan?" Jessie asked, spinning her cup around with her finger.

"You two will go with the town and stay with them for a few months till things cool down. What I'm going to do doesn't matter," Chance said back, waiting for the volcano to erupt.

"What? You want us to…" Bo didn't have to finish.

"Oh no, we know what you're thinking. Just because-" Jessie started.

"There are a many number of reasons you can't stay with me. One, you two are still injured. For all we know, you could have more serious cuts than you think you have. Two, you're wanted! Do you really expect me to let you get yourself caught, blowing this entire operation?" Chance argued back.

"We're not going anywhere Chance. You can't fight this war alone," Bo said.

"Three isn't much better than one," he spat back.

"We are not going to leave," Jessie said, leaning forward.

"I-"

Without warning, the doors to the saloon burst open, and gunshots started firing from all directions. The crowd panicked, dropping to the floor. Bo tried to shout above the noise, and made her way towards the back door to let people escape. When it opened, they flooded out, leaving only Chance, Jessie, and herself against eleven other people.

They pushed over tables to hide behind. Bo made her way back over to the other two, and pulled out her gun.

"So, you'd like to be in here alone?" Jessie shouted to Chance, shooting a man in the arm.

Chance didn't reply.

Bo shot another, and then suddenly was pulled back forcefully by her hair. She was held by her neck, with a solid object pressed up against her neck, and she had a pretty good idea what it was.

Chance and Jessie, looked back, and aimed, but the gun pointing at Bo's neck was not reassuring. The shots ceased, and Bo tried to breathe as the world got fuzzy.

"We been lookin' all over for you! After the screw up in the canyon, we ain't sure we'd ever see you again, but here you are…" said the crusty voice holding her captive.

Chance and Jessie were speechless, lowering their weapons as the other bandits got closer to them.

"Isn't the first I've ever been in this situation. I'm warning you now…" Bo said angrily making a fist behind her back.

The voice laughed. "Ain't nobody ta' save ya now…"

Bo punched him in the gut as hard as he could, for some reason not worrying about whether he'd pull the trigger. She had some sense of security; As long as The Black Cactus hadn't used her for their 'intentions,' she was going to be ok. She fell down and picked up her gun which had been dropped on the floor, and shot the man's leg. He let out an ear-shattering scream.

Chance scanned the room carefully while the others fought for their lives. He grabbed the two girls by their collars and pressed the red button on his chest. Wings popped out of his back, and jets quickly lifted them off the ground. They blasted through the roof and over the saloon.

"What are you doing? What are we going to do?" Bo shouted, holding on as tight as she could. The unnatural sense of flying was something she still wasn't used to.

He didn't respond as they soared over to a few small ships, presumably belonging to the bandits.

When they landed, they didn't waste time. The three ducked into the ship and Chance started the complex machine. Bo's heart was still racing by the time they were miles away.

"Porcelain, are you crazy? You could have been killed!" Chance exclaimed after they caught their breath.

"Welcome to my world," Jessie muttered, recalling saying something very similar in the canyon.

"The fact is we got away, and I didn't get killed. I'd say everything is ok," Bo said, almost optimistically.

"How is everything ok? You two shouldn't even be coming with me," Chance said, annoyed.

"Well you're stuck with us now," Jessie said mischievously.

"So what is your real plan?" Bo asked.

"Um, I hadn't exactly got that far. I'll come up with something…"

"I have an idea, of what to do next," she said. The others looked at her curiously. "I think it's about time we go pay 'Emperor Zurg' a visit, and bust out commander Lightyear."


	16. She was terrified

_Author's Notes: Howdy! I don't have much to say except that I luvs your reviews, and I'm getting really excited as this story is taking full swing. I'm still gonna try to tie events from the movies, vaguely… So sorry if it stinks the way I write it… Yup._

* * *

_P.S.: The baby is doing better. She's taking meds and she is out of the hospital. She gave us all heartattacks when she decided she was sick of IV's and pulled one out of her head… But yeah, life is good. _

"_Good morning…"_

_Bo's eyes opened slowly. Woody sat on her bed, holding her bandaged hand gently._

"_Mmm, so it wasn't a dream… fantastic…" she said sadly. "So, am I going home?"_

"_Actually… well, no. We're too far out in space. It'd take too long to get you back, so they've agreed to let you stay," he replied._

"…_Are you in trouble?"_

"_Don't worry about it Bo. Everything'll be sorted out later"_

"_So I suppose I'd better stay here, before I make a mess of anything else." Her eyes lowered._

"_I was actually hoping you'd like to, see something. The doctor said you can walk now, and it would probably be good to get them moving," he said, lifting her chin up._

_Bo gave a slight smile._

_With Woody helping carefully, Bo slid out of her bed, immediately feeling soreness all up her back. She had a little trouble walking, so she slung an arm around Woody, and he helped her out the door. They walked down the hallway to a large window._

_The number of stars was overwhelming. They rested on the railing._

"_So?" Bo asked. When she saw the curious look on Woody's face, she shook her head a tiny bit. "I don't know, I guess I expected something else."_

"_Oh, you think the stars…? No, actually… it would be a problem if we were close to them, but since they're far away…"_

_She was confused. He pointed out the window once more, and quite a ways away, a flash of light streaked through the darkness. Soon there were many, dancing beautifully across their sight._

"_What, are they?" Bo asked._

"_It's a meteor shower. Something, isn't it? Doesn't happen very often."_

_They stood in silence admiring the light show, when someone coughed behind them._

"_Uh, er, I hope I'm not interrupting anything…" said the man Bo assumed was Buzz awkwardly._

"_What is it Buzz?" Woody asked, slightly annoyed._

"_Nothing really, I just came to see if she was doing ok…"_

"_Well, Woody? Are you going to give me that proper introduction?" Bo asked._

"_Sure… Bo, meet Buzz," Woody said dryly._

"_Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Buzz said sticking out a hand._

"_Bo Peep. You can just call me Bo," she said, shaking his hand with an interesting look on her face. "You're, formal…"_

_Buzz didn't know how to respond to that._

_The three stood in awkward silence for a few moments, until an announcement came on from a speaker._

'_All Rangers and/or personnel regarding the negotiations and teams reaching destination, Planet Z, please report to the command deck immediately.'_

"_That's us…" Buzz said looking at Woody._

_Woody turned to Bo._

"_Give us minute…?" he asked Buzz._

_Buzz gave a tiny smile. He nodded, and walked off down the endless hallway._

_Bo and Woody walked back to her room, and sat down on the bed together._

"_I'm going to have to go, Bo. Believe me, I argued for hours for others to be assigned, but I'm the only Earthling on this ship, besides you I mean. There is a barrier that doesn't let foreign things…" he said softly, stroking her hand._

_She looked up at him with big, baby blue eyes that looked like they were about to break._

"_What if it's a trap? What if you don't come back?"_

_He let out a sigh, and then rubbed the back of his neck._

"_I love you Bo. From the first time I saw you, I knew I'd never be the same," Woody said._

"_I love you too…"_

* * *

_Five days had gone by, painstakingly slow for Bo. She paced around the corridors, occasionally pulling information from others about the mission. Buzz visited once or twice. Whenever she questioned why he hadn't gone with Woody and the others, he'd only shuffle his feet and avoid the question. He was hiding something._

_Today she was determined to find out what it was._

_She made Buzz promise he would come in that day, so he arrived bringing in strange flowers that she had never seen before. He set them on the nightstand and sat in the chair across from the bed._

_Bo approached the matter subtly at first. "So, I'm sure the people working with Woody are, highly trained?"_

_Buzz let out a cough. "Erm, yes, I s'pose they are…"_

_And then Bo really went in straightforward. _

"_What happened to him? When were you gonna tell me what's really going on here?" she asked firmly, sitting up in the uncomfortable bed. Buzz was jumped at the sudden change of her voice._

"_What, are you talking about?"_

"_You know very well what I'm talking about. Something has happened that you and the others have refused to tell me!"_

"_Nothing has happened, really," Buzz stated, shifting in his chair._

"_Then what have you been keeping from me?" she demanded._

"_I… well, I guess you have a right to know… Woody, went in alone to find the girl. Nobody else came along with him..."_

_Bo was speechless, so Buzz continued._

"_He was the only one with the right genetic… He didn't want to do it Ms. Peep. For your sake. But Zurg has us in a tight... I'm sorry."_

_She still didn't utter a word._

"_I…" Buzz didn't have any idea how to end the sentence properly, so he decided to get up and leave the room._

_She was terrified._

_The silence of the room made it harder to concentrate, as her thoughts wandered._

_He'd been this close to getting killed once. Bo didn't think she could stand him being killed again. This time it wasn't from just a gun; there was a whole other world with far more dangerous people, with things and ideas she didn't understand. And he'd have to face it all alone. She shivered, even though she was covered well enough._

_Five days, he could already be dead._

* * *

_The next morning Bo woke up restless. She hadn't been able to sleep that night, reliving the time Woody was shot._

_Buzz came in again with his eyes down to the ground. He didn't once look at her._

"_You're going home, Ms. Peep."_

* * *

_Shoooooort… uck muck… I rewrote this like fifty million times, and I STILL don't like how it turned out. But whateves… onward?_


	17. Life goes on

Author's Notes: Hey ya'll, I fixed one or two things I couldn't stand in the last chapter because they bugged me so bad. If you wanna you can go back and see, but you really don't have to. All I can say for this one is oy, building up some draaaamaa! :)

* * *

Chance did not approve.

As the two girls exchanged excited looks over the plan of saving an old friend, Chance tried to discourage it by saying anything he could against the matter.

"Going there? You two would be caught in a second! Not only is it extremely dangerous, it's the prime location of the foulest minds in the galaxy! You don't even know if the commander is being held there!" he argued.

"It makes perfect sense Chance! Why would two forces trying to conquer the universe join together? Buzz Lightyear! My guess is the Black Cactus handed him over to Zurg, uniting the two groups," Bo said back.

"But-"

The ship suddenly rocketed violently.

"Dangit, they've caught up…" Chance said, taking to the controls. "There's too many of them. We're going to have to find a place to get off the sensors…"

Jessie walked up to the control panel, viewing the radar. There were several black dots behind the red light representing the ship.

"Where do we go?" she asked, holding to the panel while the next quake hit.

"There's a meteor shower up ahead. It'd be dangerous, but I think we could loose them…" Chance replied.

The three braced themselves and strapped down into seats while the blasts became more frequent. Bo's mind raced to the past, remembering seeing a shower from far away once.

Chance struggled with the wheel. The ship started to reel in all directions through the giant rocks.

A ship suddenly came across in front of them, attempting to stop them, and ran right into a meteor causing an explosion right before their eyes through the front window. Bo looked away after seeing disturbing bits float off into space.

It seemed like they were getting pummeled from every direction.

Bo unstrapped her seatbelt, and staggered over to Chance. The lights were flickering, and little pieces of rubble and debris fell down from the ceiling. Jessie clamored over to the two as well.

"What are we going to do?" Jessie yelled over the complete chaos.

Chance looked around carefully. Another of the enemy ship's spun out of control and blew up to the side of them.

He looked back to the two girls who wore desperate expressions. And then his face lit up. Chance started to tamper with the buttons on his wrist.

Jessie's eyes grew wide as she saw them hurtling strait for a giant meteorite. It would be impossible to swerve out of the way now. The girls looked at each other.

And they waited.

Bo counted down in her mind of their moment of impact.

_5…4…3…2…1…_

Was she dead?

She didn't feel like she was dead, but then again she'd never really been 'dead.' She opened her squinted eyes. It was completely dark, but she still felt like she was moving.

And suddenly the blaring light of the world came back.

Everything was where it had been. Jessie stood there with a completely shocked look. Chance took the wheel again, acting completely confident.

"What the heck just happened?" Bo said shakily.

"Star Command set up a satellite that some of the rangers could access through their suits! It makes a warp… I can't believe it still works! That was fantastic!" Chance said grinning from ear to ear. However, he wasn't smiling when Jessie punched him in the gut.

"Couldn't you at least told us we weren't gonna die?" she said angrily.

"At least I got us out of there…" he replied after catching his breath. "Anyway, can you two go check on the stuff in the back? Hopefully nothing is damaged too hard."

They both waddled over to the door, grabbing onto anything for support.

Chance smiled again, but as they turned their backs, it faded away.

After the two had caught their breath and calmed down from the epidemic, they remembered how Bo had brought up Buzz. They situated themselves on pieces of machinery to rest.

"Do you think he'd remember me?" Jessie said, pulling at her hair.

"You're going to get bald spots doing that Jess. I'm sure he remembers you! You're hard to forget…" Bo replied.

"I'm just… afraid Bo. We don't even know if he's still alive. What if he isn't? What will I do then?" she asked, running her hands across her face.

Bo paused to think of an appropriate answer.

"Like my daddy always said, life goes on."

"This is a rough situation. Three people against the entire empire of Zurg, plus the Black Cactus group. Sounds like an adventure… What are we going to do after we bust out Buzz?" Jessie asked, lightening up a bit.

"I reckon we'll hafta get the rest of them safe, and then work on Star Command… And I'll have to confront Stoneheart again. I don't know what he's got up his sleeve, but whatever it is, we'll stop it."

* * *

They'd been cruising for hours, and the fatigue gave them the impression it was nighttime. After much pushing from the girls to rescue Buzz, Chance reluctantly agreed, and they headed in the direction of Zurg's fortress Lightyears away.

Bo was too tired to fight sleep, and she drifted away in one of the chambers in the small ship. And for the first time in five years, her dreams weren't nightmares.

Jessie was lost in thought, however. She didn't even try to rest, because tomorrow they'd reach Buzz, and it was going to be a big day.

She looked outside one of the side windows with her hand propped under her chin. The stars were something she was sick of. The prairie was something her heart yearned for, to be free in the fields.

A stirring disturbed her thoughts. Chance sat down next to her in one of the rotating chairs.

"Why are you so eager to save this Buzz Lightyear anyway? You've never known him, have you?" he asked curiously.

"It's something you wouldn't understand, Chance… From the way you've talked about him, he's this great leader, right? He's probably our best bet of surviving this thing," Jessie replied with a slightly annoyed tone.

"You talk about him like he's more than that…"

"Look, don't you want to save him?"

"I do, I'm just wondering why all the sudden he matters so much to you."

Jessie bit her tongue to prevent herself from loosing her temper.

"Bet Dolly gets nervous when you leave her, huh?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Dolly's not my girlfriend, Jane. We're just friends," he said back. "I… used to have a girlfriend, until I did something horrible…"

"What, spill juice on her frilly li'l dress?" Jessie joked.

"No, she wasn't that type. She was bright, and beautiful, and always cared for everybody. She was adventurous, and sweet… I didn't deserve her. I was captured by The Black Cactus once like most of Star Command. She was taken too. I escaped, but I wasn't able to take her with me…" Chance trailed off in his sad memories.

"It wasn't your fault... I'm sure she'd understand" Jessie said solemnly.

"I swore that I'd do anything in the world for her…"

"Did you ever try to go back?"

"I did, a million times, until I just gave up. I'm no Buzz Lightyear…" he said, his head lowering.

"Well, if you ask me, I think you're brave. If this frump of a girlfriend doesn't appreciate what you've done, then there is no reason going out with her anymore," Jessie said smiling slightly.

"Thanks, Jane," he replied He moved closer, ever so slightly.

She did too.

And they kissed softly.

Jessie's face suddenly became alerted, and she yanked backwards, as Chance did the same thing.

"No, no! This isn't right! I'm such an idiot!" she cried, standing up and combed her fingers through her hair stressfully.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean…" Chance said desperately.

Jessie let the room without another word.

* * *

See? Draaaamaaa!


	18. Nobody noticed

_Authors Notes: Hey, I haven't had the opportunity to thank everybody individually for their reviews, so thanks! If you have any questions feel free to ask away! For .Banana.'s question: Chance is indeed an original character. And I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing some of the characters you mentioned pretty soon… Thanks as always! Next Chapter…_

* * *

_That morning was one of the worst moments of her life, up to that point._

_People were scrambling around, giving her back her old clothes and belongings. They came in and out of her room; some doctors or nurses, and others were simply dropping off things. She wanted answers._

_Buzz certainly wasn't a huge help._

_He left after he told her she was going home. Bo yelled after him, and practically pleaded everyone else who had come through her room to tell her what had happened. But it seemed they were too caught up in what they were doing, too careless to consider her feelings at the moment._

_If these people weren't going to tell her, she was going to have to take matters into her own hands. So she got up out of her bed, still sore, and tiptoed out of the room. _

_Nobody noticed. _

_Buzz was the only other person on the entire ship she knew, so Bo figured if anybody was going to help her, he was the most apt to._

_Luckily she saw him down the hallway talking to a doctor._

"_Buzz!" Bo called after him. The doctor took notice._

"_Ms. Peep, you need to go back to your room. They are making preparations for you departure and it is necessary for you to be present," the doctor said sternly._

"_But-"_

"_It's ok doc, I need to talk to her for a bit, and then I'll make sure she gets back on time…" Buzz said, walking over to Bo._

_The doctor didn't look exactly happy, but he nodded and went the opposite way._

_Buzz took her arm and pulled her around the corner._

"_Haven't you gotten in enough trouble running around the hallways?" he said, smiling slightly._

_Bo's emotions blew up and she started to cry. She'd been holding in the tears for five days._

"_Whoa! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"_

"_He's dead isn't he? Nobody will tell me! I knew this would happen! This is exactly why I came; to talk him out of it and I didn't even try!" she exclaimed._

_Buzz placed his hands on her shoulders._

"_Calm down… Ms. Pe-, Bo… he's not dead."_

_She looked up at him with her big baby blue eyes. All the fears she had built up in the past few days melted for a moment. It seemed to sweep the tension out of her shoulders._

"_We thought he was dead earlier, but he's not. He's been kidnapped. We're gonna get him back," Buzz continued._

"_He's… alive? Oh my gosh…He's still out there… You have to find him! Do, I have to go home still?" she said shaking._

"_Yes, it's for the better. You'll be going home in at least an hour… He'll be ok, I promise. I'm going in after him, with a team."_

"_Really?" Bo said completely worn out._

"_Woody once risked his life to save mine, and I couldn't call myself his friend if I wasn't willing to do the same," he said._

"_Well… this is for him, when you find him," she said, and then she gave Buzz a kiss on the cheek._

_Buzz's face went beet red. He tried to clear his throat._

"_Um, ok, but it won't be the same coming from me…"_

* * *

_The rest of the day went along like a blur. Before she knew it, a ranger had escorted her to a pod where she would be isolated until getting back to Earth. It would take a few hours. From what she heard from Buzz there was apparently a large controversy whether someone should have gone with her._

_Of course, she was already in hot water with the officials on the ship._

_While she was unconscious, Woody had to explain the entire situation, and it didn't go down so well. It took a lot of debating just to decide if she could stay for a little bit. They decided that Bo was so banged up that a few days recovery on the ship wouldn't kill her, and them to be exact._

_There were a few less accepting people. Some from other planets considered Earth to be the lowest planet in civilization. They didn't welcome her very well, especially when she'd pace down the hallways._

_Others would go out of their way to see her. Most had never even seen an Earthling before, because although Earth was part of the Galactic Alliance, few had ever come in contact with Star Command, let alone the majority of the planet not even knowing about Star Command altogether._

_They finally decided to let Bo go back alone, since sending someone there and back would be more of a hassle._

_She said goodbye to Buzz a final time. It was short, but sweet. Even though she had not known him for very long, Bo had opened up to Buzz. He was there when she needed him the most. He reminded her again everything would be ok, and they'd stay in touch. And then she boarded on the pod to send her home._

* * *

"_**Where am I?"**_

"_**You're finally awake? That took awhile…"**_

"_**A… hospital bed? What happened? Am I injured?"**_

"_**Calm down, don't you remember?"**_

"_**What should I remember? What happened Woody?"**_

"_**Try not to squirm so much. The doctors are trying to keep your heart rate down…"**_

"_**Please, tell me what's going on!"**_

"_**You've gone through painful things Bo."**_

"_**I…"**_

"_**But you've become a different person now. I don't know you anymore. You're no longer the one I wanted to marry…"**_

"_**Woody, please! Tell me what's going on! I don't understand! Don't leave me, you promised you'd never leave me!"**_

"_**You need wake up in reality, Bo. You've become someone I thought you'd never be... Turning away your closest friends."**_

"_**Stop it!"**_

"_**You'll never be the person you were. You have to wake up….wake up…."**_

* * *

"_Wake up!"_

_She jumped up, shaking immensely._

"_Bo, are you ok?" Slinky's somewhat reassuring voice made her relax slightly. She was surprised to find herself on the couch of one of the back rooms of the old saloon._

"_Uhg, Slinky… I was dreaming…" Bo sat up, and Slinky sat down next to her._

"_You were murmuring nonsense when you got here. Everybody is worried sick…" he replied with a concerned tone._

_Bo shivered uncontrollably. She groaned, rubbing her sore legs._

"_You've gone through a heck of a week, haven't you? Bein' up in space and all, especially for someone who didn't know that was even possible."_

"_Yeah Slink, it has been," she said wearily._

"_I heard the news, from Buzz…"_

_Bo looked at him with broken eyes. "I pray he's ok…"_

"_Nobody else knows it yet. I'm going to have to tell them. I'm not good at telling bad news," he said, lowering his head a bit._

"_I'll be with you Slink… Just, give me a moment," she said, touching his back lightly._

_He looked at her with his warm brown eyes, and then left the room._

_Bo collapsed back onto her stomach, clutching one of the pillows._

"_Wherever you are Woody, come home safely…"_

* * *

_P.S. I changed the summary, again. I'm trying to spit out the right words..._


	19. Not Good

Author's Notes: I'M ALIIIIVE! First and foremost, I'm sorry it's been too long. I went on vacation for forever. I went camping, and then to another state the next week, and then I had more camping with my religious group. It's been pretty crazy. Not to mention I wrote this chapter like fifty million times. Guh. So yup, thanks for support n' such.

Oh P.S., I was going through other chapters and I noticed that I failed on Chance's description. So just as a reminder, he's lanky n' tall, cerulean eyes, and blonde hair.

Sorry again guys, I'm pretty much done with all my trips for the summer at least.

* * *

The next morning, Jessie was upset.

Bo didn't understand why, but Jessie didn't look like she was in the mood to spill the beans, so instead Bo went about trying to find some food on the ship. She realized how little she had eaten in the past days. Most of the cupboards only contained whiskey bottles.

She finally found a loaf of bread. Bo took one of the bottles and the bread and went back up to the main room where Chance was. He looked uncomfortable.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked absently.

"Yes… did you get any sleep?" Bo replied back, ripping off a piece of bread.

"Not really. I was a little restless last night…"

Bo looked at him with a concerned look. "Perhaps you should get some rest before we go in after the Commander."

"No, no, we're too close for that now. We'll be there in less than fifteen minutes," he said, gazing out the window at the stars moving quickly past them. "You'd better go tell Jane."

Bo turned to leave, but Chance stopped her by asking a question. "Porcelain, are you sure this is what you want? There are a million reasons why you shouldn't get involved…"

"I'm already involved Chance… I know how it feels to be helpless, and I swore that I'd never let myself go back there again… I won't."

Bringing Jessie back into the main room was awkward. Chance and Jessie would not look at each other or talk to each other. They barely spoke otherwise. Neither of them were more than willing to say anything about the matter.

Time went very slow. Bo felt like she was loosing her mind.

"For some reason I feel like something has happened between you two," she said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Neither one responded.

"And even though I don't know what, for the sake of my sanity, forget about it. It can't be that serious, can it? We're going to get to the Commander any minute now and if you two cannot communicate with each other, we might as well turn around right now." Bo crossed her arms.

The two finally looked at each other.

"What I did was wrong. I'm sorry Jane…" Chance croaked after a long pause. "I just don't want to think about it anymore."

Jessie separated a thread of her hair and twisting it between her fingers. "It's my fault too. I think that'd be for the best."

Bo raised her eyebrow. She was curious, but at the same time she had no desire to know what had gone on that night. Bo wondered about possible injuries, or a fight, or… something else had gone on between Chance and Jessie. But she was ultimately relieved that the tension in the thin air had been loosed.

And the timing worked out perfectly, because off in the distance Planet Z could be seen.

"How are we going to land without looking, conspicuous?" Jessie asked watching the small sphere grow bigger.

"We are in an enemy ship, so we should be able to land in the base," Chance said back regaining his focus. "The real problem will be a disguise. Porcelain, check in the back to see if you can find any suits."

She came back with three, all very big and floppy.

They attempted to put on them on, but they were completely oversized, making the trio look ridiculous to say the least.

"Maybe they won't, notice?" Chance offered after seeing Bo's discouraged face.

"We're obviously gonna have to pray they're idiots, aren't we?" she replied, pulling on the stretchy odd material.

Jessie couldn't stop looking out the window. They approached the planet quickly, and then suddenly a transmission came through the soundboard.

"Mother Planet to Alpha twelve, what is your position?" said the crackly voice through the machine.

"Mother Planet, requesting permission to land…" Chance replied without falter.

"Hang on a moment…"

Bo's shoulder's tensed. She exchanged a nervous glance with Jessie, and then looked at Chance who was holding a serious expression on his face.

"Permission granted."

* * *

After getting off the ship, some greeted them as they went by, nervously trying not to blow the operation. The port was humongous, filled with many people scurrying about around other ships and contraptions.

"So, how exactly are we going to go about doing this?" Bo whispered as they walked along trying to blend in.

"We've got to find out where he's being held, for one," Chance said quietly back. "And then we have to figure out how to get him out. And from the looks of it now, it's not going to be easy."

"You escaped once, didn't you?" Jessie added slowly.

Chance didn't reply.

He led them over to some darker hallways that went on forever in a maze-like pattern.

"Where are we going?" Bo asked brushing her hands against the wall. "And why are there so few people here?"

"This is the prisoners unit. If he's here at all, most likely Buzz'll be here. It's been a long time, but I think he's gonna be held somewhere thicker into these hallways. Their security must have been reduced for some reason. I don't understand why we haven't been caught yet."

After running out of things to say as they walked silently, Bo looked over at Jessie who looked nervous as heck. It was so, unlike her to be extremely like that.

"Did you ever know the Commander, personally?" Bo asked quietly. She somewhat questioned the area being a prisoner's unit due to lack of anything that looked remotely related to the keeping of a prisoner.

"Sort of, I guess. Most everyone knew about him, but few actually knew him personally. Did I tell you about his friends on Earth? He talked about them sometimes to pass the time while travelling," Chance recalled. "Buzz would mention this girl he knew especially."

Jessie cocked her head. "Oh? And what did he say about this girl?"

Chance looked at her with eyes looking like they were concealing something. "Y'know, the usual of one in love."

They didn't speak again until a red man suddenly popped out of the shadows to confront them. Bo eye's widened; it was the man from the ship where they'd been attacked. She prayed he wouldn't recognize them even when their hair was being covered by a hood.

"Who are you? You aren't authorized to be in this section," he said through slit eyes.

Chance cleared his throat and popped into character. "Oh, excuse me! You wouldn't happen to know where Commander Lightyear is being held, would you?"

"Don't make me repeat myself. And what of Lightyear?"

"What are _you_ doing here? And really, I thought you'd recognize me you old slug," Chance said casually placing an arm around his shoulder. At the same time he signaled his eyes up to a camera in the hallway and then to a control panel on the wall.

"W-what?... I guess you do look a little, familiar…" the red man said uncomfortably.

Jessie held her breath as she tried to silently use the laser built into the suit to break off the cover to the panel.

"Don't you remember anything about the academy? It hasn't been that long, has it?"

Bo looked up at the camera. If Chance's diversion was working, hopefully security wouldn't notice them disabling it.

"Alright, that's enough of that," the red man said pushing away Chance. "I'll have you three report to Zurg and-" He noticed Bo and Jessie. "Wait a minute…"

He started to raise his weapon but Chance punched him across the face. He fell to the floor. A few seconds later a loud buzzing siren started going off.

"Well that's not good."


	20. You don't have to

_Author's Notes: I forgot to mention that I saw Cars 2 the day it came out. I know some people didn't like it very much, but I enjoyed it. The Hawaiian vacation short was really cute too. So yeah, good good. Thanks for your support n' all, loves and virtual cookies for you all._

* * *

_Everybody took the news hard._

_It wasn't the first time Woody had ever gone out on a mission with Buzz before, and it definitely wasn't the first time he'd ever been taken hostage, but this time it was different. The entire vacuum of space was much bigger than Earth._

_Bo didn't do much for the rest of the day. Others tried to reassure her, or give comfort, but no matter what anyone said, she didn't feel a slight better. There was a deep depression settled inside her._

_She sat down at a table with her hands supporting her head. The only news to lighten up the day was that Potatohead had just proposed to his girlfriend, and they were getting married soon. They hadn't known each other for very long, but it seemed like they were a perfect fit, even though they bickered sometimes._

_The soon to be Mrs. Potatohead sat down across from Bo. She was a stouter woman with red frizzy hair, and somewhat of a temper. But she was a sweetheart at heart and she and Potatohead seemed to really love each other._

"_I don't believe we've met…I'm Estelle. Do you know my fiancé?" she asked._

"_My name is Bo Peep. Yes, he's an old friend. Kind of a bitter old thing but maybe you'll mellow him out," Bo replied politely._

_Estelle chuckled. "Sure hope so. I never exactly saw myself getting married. We're kind of old coots ya know. Mrs. Davis got us together. She has an eye for these things. Me an' Don go together like a wink and a smile."_

_Bo smiled slightly. Rarely ever did anyone call Potatohead by his first name._

"_Anywho, it's nice to meet you Bo, and, um… I heard about the sheriff n' you, and I'm really truly sorry. I'm sure they'll find him," Estelle said sympathetically._

_Bo was about to say something when Slinky touched her shoulder. He gave her an interesting look, and then gestured over to the back of the Saloon. Bo excused herself and left with him to the same room where the secret entrance to the port was. Slinky pushed a button and a screen came down from the ceiling, and suddenly Buzz's face was projected._

_Bo gasped slightly. She reached out to the screen._

_Buzz looked relieved, but stressed. "Thank goodness you're all right," he said wearily._

"_How, how are you doing that?" Bo asked in wonder. "And why wouldn't I be?"_

"_Practically right after you left we were attacked. We were afraid you'd been… destroyed." Buzz lowered his head. "I felt, especially responsible for putting you in so much danger. I hope you can forgive me."_

"_Buzz, forget it. Nothing happened, and that's what is important. So… have you found him?" Bo asked weakly._

"_From what we've figured out, we think we know where he could be located… I promise I'll have someone notify you the instant we find exactly where he is. We're going to get him home soon."_

_Slinky took her hand and squeezed it. She shared a concerned look with him, then turned back to the screen._

"_Thank you."_

_Another day passed lazily by. Bo had been staying at the saloon. Her thoughts sometimes turned to Mr. Bill's and his wife. She felt guilty, especially for taking their gun. Knowing them they probably were worried sick about her. _

_The only other ones that stayed at the saloon were Mrs. Davis and Andy, and the new edition to their family, Molly. Mrs. Davis had been kind enough to let her stay for a few nights._

_That night she quietly snuck out of her bed, and went outside on the wooden porch and leaned on a beam. The stars were particularly bright that night. She tried to breath in. The dusty air was uncomfortable, and the wind started to pick up slightly. Her blonde bangs blew across her eyes, so she delicately held them up with a pale sparkly hand. The moonlight made it look so… breakable._

_A tear dropped down on the wood. It seemed like she'd cried so much in the past few months._

"_Don't cry…"_

_The voice startled Bo. She looked down the road and all around, but nobody was there._

"_Why shouldn't I? I have plenty of reasons to," she responded back, thinking herself slightly crazy._

"_You don't have to."_

_Bo didn't know what to say. She sat down on the side of the porch and let her bare feet touch the sandy floor._

"_No, I guess I don't," she finally replied sighing heavily._

* * *

_REALLY SHORT CHAPTER! Sorry guys but this was another filler one. _


	21. Her heart was breaking

Author's Notes: Heya, I have one more big vacation coming up next week, and I figured I wanted to get in at least one more chapter before that. I _might_ try and get one more in, but probably not. The next two chapters are too important to be rushed. Anywho, thanks for reviews and shtuff! Have a virtual cookie!

* * *

Bo wondered how old the bread she'd eaten was.

She couldn't believe that's what she was thinking about at that time, but it seemed like if she didn't distract herself from how much running she was doing and how much it started to hurt, she would have stopped.

It got to be annoying, just three people fighting off an entire ship full of people. As soon as they turned a corner another group would be waiting for them. Chance was very skilled at getting through crowds without killing very many people.

Jessie was biting her lip so hard it started to bleed a little. Bo could only imagine the thoughts going through her mind, and she couldn't blame her for being afraid. Heck, if it'd been Woody…

The realization went through her mind that she'd probably go through the same emotions when they found Woody…_ If _they found Woody.

"We're almost there!" Chance yelled above the alarm that still hadn't stopped. "Even if he is there, I honestly don't know how we're going to get out of this!"

Jessie suddenly fell abruptly, causing the two others to stop. She cried out in pain, placing her hand on her shoulder. Behind them were several people and hornets shooting lazers in their direction. Chance picked her up and carried her as they continued to run. Bo shot back at their pursuers but it wasn't working very well.

She glanced over at Jessie. Her eyes were slightly open, and she was mumbling incoherently. The suit layer over her shoulder had been melted and went strait through her clothes. The burnt plastic-like material clung to her bare shoulder, leaving a slightly smoldering mess. It looked extremely painful.

"This way!" Chance yelled again looking at two automatic doors up ahead.

They passed through them and he looked at a little button pad. Chance set Jessie gingerly down and then fumbled with the buttons until the doors closed, right before the others had reached it.

"It won't hold them off for long, but at least it will buy us some time," he said, kneeling down beside Jessie.

Bo looked at her shoulder once more.

"What can we do about that?" she asked, grabbing Jessie's hand.

"We'll have to take off the suit. Stay next to her while I look for the right cell…" he replied, looking down the hallway where each door had a silver name plate.

Bo stroked her cheek. Her eyes opened wider. She seemed to snap out of it. Jessie started to sit up, but her face showed the pain from her shoulder.

"Where's Chance?" she said wincing.

"He's looking for Buzz… we're gonna find him," she replied, rubbing her hand. "Just relax a little."

Jessie examined the area. "Doesn't look like much of a prisoner's area. Looks better than the jail cells back home," she said in a strange tone.

The closed off double doors were banging furiously and sounds of all sorts of weapons tried to penetrate the thick unknown material. They must have put such strong doors there in case a prisoner tried to escape.

"Are you ok?" Bo asked gently seeing Jessie's stressed face.

"How on Earth are we going to get out of this mess?" she replied putting her hand on her forehead.

"We'll figure something out…" was all that Bo could come up with.

"My shoulder, I blew this entire thing, didn't I? It hurts so much…"

"Guys! I found it!" Chance called from down the way.

Bo carefully helped Jessie to her feet, and they walked slowly to where Chance was calling from. Sure enough, on the door it stated _B. Lightyear_.

"How do you suppose we get inside? I mean, it's not like they just left it unlocked…" Bo said casually while pushing a button on the pad next to the door. To their surprise, the door opened slowly, pushing out smoke.

They shared anxious looks. Bo gripped Jessie's cold fingers.

The three coughed and walked into the crude dimly lit chamber.

"Hello?" Bo called out innocently.

Through squinted eyes they spotted a bench in the corner. And, a collapsed figure lied on the cold floor. Jessie covered her mouth with her hands. She ran into the musty room and knelt down beside the figure despite how much her shoulder hurt.

It lied in a pool of dried blood, making the stench in the room almost unbearable. The suit that the depicted man wore had the unmistakable white, green, and purple colors on it. Jessie pressed a button lifting up dirty helmet concealing the fallen ranger's face, and her worst fears were confirmed.

"Please, no…" she uttered. "No…"

Bo walked silently up to her, and then knelt beside the dead figure to confirm his identity. Her face lifted up to her friend, who was crying silently. Her head finally collapsed on the suit, and she breathed heavily.

Bo reached out a hand, but pulled back and got up again to back up. Her heart was breaking.

Jessie sat there for a very long time. It suddenly didn't matter that they would get caught.

Buzz Lightyear was dead.

Suddenly Jessie began to talk slowly in a voice barely audible.

"Oh B-Buzz…I w-wondered when I'd s-see you again," she said shakily. "R-remember when we said g-goodbye? You… promised something… I-if we ever m-made it to each other again, we'd-"

She was interrupted by the sound of the double doors bursting open from down the hallway. It was only a matter of time before they'd be upon them…

Jessie didn't seem to notice. She stopped talking, but didn't stir from her place on the ground. Bo ran up to her once more, taking her hand again.

"We have to get out of here…" Bo said, pulling slightly.

"I'm n-not leaving him, never a-again…"

Bo was fighting back tears. "Jessie please!" she didn't care about using her real name in front of Chance. She looked back at him. He wore a pale blank expression.

"W-we have to escape Jessie!" she said turning back to her weeping friend.

Bo looked back to Chance one more time with a pleading expression.

"I always intended to keep that promise," Chance said very quietly.

Bo looked at him with a confused expression, as did Jessie. Their eyes widened.

The footsteps from the hallway finally reached them. They were tackled quickly. Bo tried to fight back, but after seeing her friends not resisting, she gave in. She saw them handle Jessie roughly, causing her immense pain through her shoulder.

Jessie and Chance only stared at each other.

* * *

Ahhhhhhhh!


	22. He was different

_Author's Notes: I have to say, I loved your reactions to the last chapter, but I'm not going to say anything until the next chapter. Yup yup, good good. I'm back from camping again, but I'm off to Illinois Wednesday. I don't think I'll get a chapter in while I'm there, but I'm only going to be gone for a week. Until then, happy fanfiction!_

* * *

_Bo Peep was groggy that morning. She hadn't been able to sleep the past two nights, especially since she heard the voice outside. They'd received no more messages from Star Command, and it made her antsy. _

_That morning in the Saloon she sat next to Estelle, Potatohead, Hamm and Rex at a table, staying absolutely silent._

_As usual Potatohead and Hamm were having a debate about elections for mayor coming up in a few months. Every so often Estelle would include herself, not exactly having an opinion but putting in gossipy comments she'd heard about the candidates. And Rex would try to put in a word or two, but the others didn't seem to hear him._

_Slinky came over casually to join them, letting the piano go by itself. He smiled at how ridiculous everyone was sounding, but then it lowered when he looked at Bo. She looked completely exhausted. He took her hand and led her to another table, getting her a glass of water._

"_You ok?" he asked quietly._

"_Yeah, I'm fine…" she lied. "Hey Slink? Thanks. You've helped me get through this whole mess as any really loyal friend would do. I appreciate it."_

"_No problem Bo. You wanna come with me to see if Buzz has sent any word down yet?" Slinky asked, trying to boost her spirits._

_She sighed. "No, that's ok…"_

* * *

_Later that day Estelle decided to take Bo shopping with her to find a wedding dress. They went down to the tailor's and Estelle insisted on trying as many dresses as she could. Bo hadn't said much._

"_Y'know sweetie, maybe trying on a dress or two would cheer you up!" Estelle offered, resting on a chair by the changing room._

"_That's nice of you, but I don't really feel like it…" Bo replied glumly._

_Estelle huffed. "That's quite enough of that. Look, I may not know exactly what you're going through, but I know what it's like to be depressed. A few years back before I met Don I thought about where my life was. I wasn't married, I didn't have kids, my job wasn't making too much money…But if you stay depressed your life isn't going to get any better. It'd be good for you!"_

_Bo didn't feel a heck of a lot better, but she couldn't help smile as Estelle practically forced her into a changing room with an elegant pink dress._

_She changed quickly, coming out to look at herself in the mirror, but before she could see what it looked like on her Estelle charged at her and fawned over the exquisite detail._

"_It's so beautiful! Look at you!" she said excitedly._

"_Estelle, I haven't even seen myse-" Bo started until she pushed away from the eager woman and looked at herself. She gasped._

_She'd seen that dress before._

_Bo ran her fingers over the silky smooth fabric. Lace embellished the collar and the sleeves were little but puffy and elegant. The skirt had ruffles with white small bows attached._

_Estelle put a pearl necklace on her while she stood in awe._

"_Such a lovely thing, too bad it isn't for sale…" she said adjusting Bo's hair slightly.'_

"_I-it's not for sale?" she stuttered as a reply._

"_No, afraid not. It's an antique found in the ruins of burnt house, at least that's what the owner said about it. That's quite frankly hard to believe since there's not a scratch on it…"_

"_This dress belonged to my mother."_

"_What?" Estelle asked a little too loudly._

"_I never knew my mother, and I never asked about her, but I did find a picture of her once that I didn't tell my father about. She was wearing this dress…" Bo said blankly, touching the mirror slightly._

"_Oh my word! Well we'll just have to see about getting it to you then!"_

* * *

_It was extremely late. Estelle had been truly amazing. Bo wasn't sure what she had said to the store owner, but now she was in the possession of her mother's dress and for the first time in days she felt good again. She felt like even though she never knew her mother, the dress connected them together. She of course had asked the owner many times about where the dress was found, curious to know what happened to her mother, but the owner didn't know anything about it except that it had been donated by a older man. _

_Estelle insisted that she wore her new dress home to show it off. Bo protested, but eventually gave in._

_The ride to the Tailor's had been longer than the usual trip to a store. The two women climbed into a carriage and it got dark outside. Estelle fell asleep._

_Bo thought in the silence of the night. She wondered where Woody was, and if he'd ever make it home. Her mind turned back into sadness. She had a gut feeling they were never going to find him, and she'd wind up miserable for a long time._

_Bo'd seen others go before. There were old men and ladies that passed away from time to time when she was a little girl. One boy died of an illness that swept their area for awhile. And of course there was her dad, and Mr. Davis…_

_But he was different._

_Bo felt more complete while around him, like it didn't matter how insecure or faulted she was._

_She looked out the window and saw the Saloon up ahead. Tomorrow was just going to be another day… waiting._

_But then she saw a light: a lantern of someone waiting up for her. She didn't know why, but something about it made her nervous and anxious. Her mind betrayed her. She tried to make out the figure as they approached closer and closer. She realized she was shaking._

"_Stop it Bo! Stop it! It's not… him…" she muttered to herself, craning her head to get a better look at the stranger._

_They were so close, she could hardly contain herself. The image got clearer, and a cowboy hat…_

_By the time they stopped, the coach didn't get anywhere near her door before she flung it open. She ran, wind and sand stinging her eyes. The figure was… him. He literally dropped his lantern and started running as well. The bodies approached each other with incredible speed._

_And it all happened so fast. With tears blinding her, Bo hugged him with every ounce of energy she had left, and he did the same._

_Woody picked her up and spun her around. Bo almost giggled. She'd never felt so elated. She had a million questions, but she stayed quiet and just examined him, tracing his figure with her eyes. That figure had been in her mind for the past week._

_Her hands suddenly clamped over her mouth after she saw a maroon stained bandage on one of his arms._

"_You're hurt…!" was all she could squeak out, suddenly feeling guilty for when he spun her around._

"_Oh, that? Bo, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're safe and well…" he said with his golden voice Bo had missed so much._

"_Woody… I've been so worried…" she didn't know what else to say. Bo stroked his face with her cold hand._

_He leaned close and kissed her softly._

"_Ya know Woody, I didn't know that you were being serious about this girl, especially when I heard the bit about you never being on a date with her before…" called out a woman's voice behind them. _


	23. And they kissed

Author's Notes: I'm back! Joy! Last vacation of the summer, I promise. I start school again in a few weeks, however, but that won't stop me from writing. It might go a little slower just because of homework n' all that but you know how it was for me last school year. It's pretty hard to believe I'm starting another year of school… Anywho, I have to say I've been thinking about this chapter for a looooooooong time, almost from the very beginning. I hope I don't disappoint!

* * *

"Please! Let me see him! Bring him back!"

For the past half hour, Jessie had been screaming the same things, hitting her fists to the sides of the cell.

A rough voice from outside the chamber rattled on the door and yelled back. "If you don't shut your trap, you're never going to see him again! Now like I said before, he's gone down for questioning, and Heaven knows if he'll ever come back from that place!"

"Jessie…" Bo called softly, sitting on the wood protruding out of the wall she could only assume as a bed.

Bo hadn't spoken since they were captured. As soon as Chance, or, whoever he was, was dragged away and they were locked up in the cold, dark, and musty chamber, she had sat in silence, watching Jessie make futile attempts of getting out. She sat there also in deep thought, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Bo," Jessie said hoarsly, completely exhausted. She finally gave in and sat down on the slightly damp floor. "This is all my fault…"

"You can't blame yourself for anything Jess… You don't even know if it's really him," Bo replied simply.

"But you heard what he said! Why would he say something like that?" Jessie exclaimed harsher than she meant. When she saw Bo retract slightly, she spoke softer. "I don't know how, but I just know… it has to be him. From the day I saw those cerulean blue eyes… I think part of me just knew, and that's why I kissed him…"

"You kissed him? That's what happened between you two the other night?"

Jessie bowed her head. "Yeah, that's it. We were just there talking, and then…"

They both didn't say a word for several minutes, and then finally Jessie started talking with what could only be described as a broken voice.

"The thing that gets me the most, is that he was with us this entire time, and we didn't even know… kinda funny that all three of us going by different names and not knowing each other…"

Suddenly the door started to click open, and in staggered a tall figure that staggered to the floor as soon as the door closed behind him.

Jessie scuttled over to him in an instant. It was obviously Chance lying there, breathing heavily and shaking from head to toe. She put his head on her lap, brushing his sweating bangs out of his face.

"Jessie," was all he was able to get out.

"Buzz?" she whispered, with a certain desperate tone in her voice.

And they kissed.

Tears practically rolling down Jessie's face onto Buzz's, they hugged each other for a long time.

Bo came down to sit beside them after they were finished and took his hand. She patted it slightly, and then gingerly set it down. She herself couldn't help but let tears go freely down her cheeks.

"I d-don't understand i-it… If t-that wasn't y-you…" Jessie stuttered.

"That's the t-thing… that was the real Chance… See, five years or so ago I met a brave little guy named Chance who was willing to do anything for Star Command. He introduced me to a new kind of technology, where you could use a device to look like anyone else. When we were all taken, he knew I'd be killed, and practically forced me to use the device so we could switch places, and I escaped… and he was left to face my enemies for me…" Buzz choked out the last part.

"But, then, why did you agree to take us here?" Bo asked, understanding why he'd been so reluctant to go.

"Because, I… I wanted to see if we could save him anyway. I wanted to stop running away watching the galaxy fall apart. I wanted to be who I really am…" he replied somberly. And then he started to go into extreme coughing fits.

They helped him over to the bed and Jessie sat down beside him, squeezing his hand and still crying softly.

"So, what will happen now?" she asked quietly. "What will happen to the universe? And, what will happen to us?"

"I just wish I knew what Stoneheart was planning. Surely he can't get a hold of everything, can he? Sure, Star Command has fallen, but I bet he's paid dearly for that, and I'm sure if this war comes to it, that anyone would be willing to save themselves…" Bo said tapping her chin. "Is there any other defense in the universe that would be a threat to Zurg and Stoneheart?"

"No… except, of course it's only a story, more of a myth…" Buzz coughed out.

"Who?"

"Well, it's said that certain people have a connection, even people of different species, and when the universe is in an extremely dire situation, they suddenly become aware of who they are and unite to become the Defenders of the Black Star… but it's only an old story."

"But why would a bunch of people be a real threat? What makes them different?" Jessie questioned.

"It's also said that there is one among them that possesses, something, that can do, well, something… The tale was never very specific…"

"Well," Bo sighed. "It's something alright. And for now it's all we've got."

* * *

Pretty short actually chapter actually… sorry…


	24. He wasn't there

_Authors Notes: Guhh… this chapter took awhile. It's not even that long… anywho, school starts in two weeks. I'm kinda excited, but not really at the same time. I got myself a Perry the Platypus backpack and junk, so I hope all is well with this backpack. Last year I had a Buzz Lightyear one, but it ripped so I have to be more cautious and use my locker often. Do any of you have any cool backpacks? Oh P.S., in case it wasn't clear or whatever, Estelle is Mrs. Potatohead. The reason her name is Estelle is because that is the actor's real name, just like how I put Mr. Potatohead's name as Don._

* * *

_Bo had no idea what time it was, but she didn't care how late it was._

_The world had moved rather quickly that day, as suddenly Woody was with her again, like he'd never been gone in the first place. Of course, he hadn't come back alone, which surprised her. The introduction was, awkward._

"_You aren't an, well, an alien are you?" Bo couldn't help saying it. She immediately regretted it afterwards._

"_Do I look like I'm a bloomin' alien?" huffed the redhead._

"_I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out like that…" Bo said quickly._

"_I should hope not… I mean, what kind of first question is that? Are you an alien?"_

_Bo swallowed. She looked up at Woody, who seemed in a sort of daze. She wished desperately he' d say something. The redhead went on._

"_Honestly now, is that how you start most conversations? Woody never told me anythin' like __**that…**__"_

_At the sound of his name, Woody snapped out of it, and saw Bo's pleading face._

"_Uh, oh, yeah… Bo, this is my, sister… Jessica Pride…" he coughed out. "Jessie, this Bo…"_

_Jessie looked like someone not to mess with. She had on a flaming red hat that almost matched her hair, a white and yellow blouse and long jeans with cowhides covering them. She almost reminded Bo of an old rag doll._

"_So this is the real Bo? I wasn't sure for awhile…" Jessie smirked._

"_Jess! Um, so anyway, it turns out they were telling the truth about the whole sister thing, and we were able to escape, with the help of Buzz of course…" Woody said smiling over at the spaceman._

_Buzz looked different though than his usual confident self. His cheeks were flushed red and he almost looked like he was shaking slightly. He was standing on the porch of the saloon, gripping one of the posts for support._

_Bo waved at him, and then turned back to Jessie who was standing with her hands on her hips._

"_Well, it's nice to meet you Jessie," Bo tried. She stuck out her hand._

_Jessie looked skeptically at it, but as soon as she saw the threatening look Woody was giving her, she reluctantly took the hand and shook it._

"_Woody!" Buzz called from his porch retreat. "Can… can I see you for a minute?"_

_Bo looked up at Woody again, giving him one last desperate look. His eyes seemed to say __**just a few minutes…**__ So he pulled away from the girls. He and Buzz slipped inside the saloon._

"_So… nice night, isn't it?" Bo asked timidly._

_Jessie just scowled at her._

"_Um, perhaps I should go see if Estelle got all of her things…" Bo started to walk away, but to her surprise Jessie grabbed her arm._

"_Now just hold on a moment. I haven't known my brother for very long, but I care about him a lot, and I'm not gonna let just any pink wearing princess girl go up an' break his heart… I know your type. Ditzy, shallow-" she said._

"_Shallow?" Bo yanked her arm away. "For the record, you know nothing about me! It's been only five minutes since we've met and you're already calling me shallow!"_

"_I've met plenty of them fancy girls from the city cruel as ice…I'm not just gonna stand here and let you wave your li'l skirt like they did," Jessie said bitterly._

"_I grew up on a farm. My father was a poor man and I never had a mother. After he died I've been completely on my own," Bo replied coolly._

_Jessie raised a curious eyebrow. She was about to say something when all the sudden Woody popped back between two. Almost sensing the tension in the air, he declared it was extremely late and led the two inside the saloon._

* * *

_Bo couldn't sleep, as hard as she tried. Her eyes kept popping open, expecting all the events of the day to be a dream. She eventually touched her foot to the cold floor, and swept down the hallway letting her nightgown fall behind her._

_She wanted to peek at the bedroom Woody was staying in to see if he really was still there. Jessie would've gone strait home, but Woody complained it was too dark outside and that one night at the saloon 'wouldn't kill us.'_

_Bo cracked the door open slightly looking in. She sucked in hard._

_He wasn't there._

_She ran down the hallway to the main saloon, not caring about being cautious anymore. She practically slammed open the swinging doors to the dark world outside, and tried to breathe._

"_It couldn't have been a dream… please, no…" Bo whispered to herself._

"_Bo?"_

_Bo swiveled around and saw Woody standing on the porch on the side of the saloon. She sprinted to him and hugged him tightly._

"_Bo, what… what are you doing up?" he said, surprised._

"_I was afraid, afraid it was all a dream…" Bo puffed out._

_Woody smiled and sat down. He patted the seat next to him._

"_It's not a dream, I promise," he said simply._

_Bo sighed and sat down beside him._

"_So, it didn't go down so well with my sister?" he asked looking up at the sky._

_Bo shook her head slightly. She didn't know exactly what to say._

"_Just give her time. She's a little rough around the edges, but when you get to know the bright young woman she is…" he said in reply._

"_What did Buzz want anyway?" Bo asked curiously._

"_Oh, well… he's developed a little bit of a, crush…" Woody said, rubbing the back of his neck._

_Bo laughed softly. "That's sweet."_

_She rested her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few moments until Bo finally spoke about something that had been on her mind since she met the headstrong cowgirl._

"_You… you don't think I'm, shallow… do you?"_

"_What?" Woody asked stiffening slightly._

"_I, nevermind… don't worry about it," Bo said quickly._

* * *

_I always imagined Jessie and Bo having a rather rocky beginning... :)_


	25. Some kind of miracle

Author's Notes: To be honest I don't know how long exactly this story is gonna go. I know how I want to end it, but I'm not completely sure of the events in between. I can tell you this, though. We are getting to the thick and thin folks. Thank you all sooo much for support through reviews, subscriptions, and all that jazz. I can't tell you what it means to me. Love you all!

* * *

Jessie had been gone for almost an hour.

They had taken her a few minutes after Buzz had come back from questioning, and although he was shaking and coughing like crazy, he begged that he could take the beating for her, even if it meant laying his life down. However, they ignored his pleas and left without another word, Jessie struggling and yelling the whole way.

After that he went completely silent while Bo took his hand. She was worried, especially because Jessie had been gone longer than Buzz. She could only imagine what was going on, and she didn't want linger on those thoughts very long.

And then out of the blue Buzz got up, still in his disguised lanky Chance form, and rammed into the wall he had been starring at for the past hour with all of his might. Bo started to yell in protest but he had already hit the wall and collapsed on the floor. She ran up to him, touching his cheek which started to bleed.

_Oh Buzz…_ she thought to herself. _Please don't do this to yourself._

Buzz looked incredibly weak. "B-Bo…" he stuttered.

"Everything is going to be fine, I promise," Bo whispered back.

And then she heard a crumbling noise.

Bo turned around slowly, seeing the wall Buzz had just thrown himself against. There was a crack in it.

It was like some kind of miracle.

She stood up quickly, starting to peel away the weakened wall, easily letting more light in. Bo had to hit it and throw herself against it a few times to get the hole big enough for one to fit through.

"Find her," Buzz sputtered again. Bo turned quickly to him and crouched down. She looked at him sadly, touching his cheek again.

"What…about you?" Bo felt like crying.

"F-find her," he repeated, too weak to say anything else. Bo leaned over and hugged him softly.

"We _will_ come back for you."

* * *

Suddenly things became complicated. It was one against thousands, and without Buzz's skills of avoiding the bad guys and Jessie's amazing gunmanship, Bo wasn't exactly sure how exactly to go about escaping. The wall to their cell came down, but to get out Buzz paid a price that Bo hoped with all her might would not be a fatal one.

Bo poked her head out of the very noticeable hole in the wall, seeing the guard she assumed who had yelled at Jessie when she'd been screaming while Buzz was gone. He looked obviously tired, but he stood straightforward nevertheless right beside the door, holding a blaster defensively in his palm. She wondered how he hadn't noticed the crumbling noises.

Bo slipped her legs out, carefully and quietly trying not to be seen in his peripheral vision. She kept her body close to the wall and made her breath extremely short.

And then she started to dart at him, punching him in the face before he could even react. He fell to the floor unconscious, bleeding from his nose. She took his gun and surveyed her surroundings. It looked like they were still in the prisoners unit, but not as far into it as they had been when they found the real Chance.

Bo wished she had a plan. For the past five years she had only relied on pure instinct, and right now her instinct was telling her to do a million things. She only knew one thing for sure: it was too late to wait in the darkness of the cell, but that didn't help much.

She quietly started to ease her way through the hallways, ducking behind anything she could find, avoiding any people. Navigating through the corridors was much easier when a million people weren't trying to kill her.

Bo wondered if it was smart to leave Buzz behind. She felt a twang of guilt imagining what would happen to him when the guard would wake. She had to shake off the feelings and continued through the port silently and deadly.

"I've told you everything! I met her in the canyon for the first time! Before that I had no clue who she was!" yelled a voice from down the hall. It was a mixture of desperation and anger. Bo could already tell who it was.

"You knew her before hand! You know who she is and nothing you are saying is helping your situation, or hers to be exact," shouted a cold voice.

"What are you gonna do to her? What could you possibly want with her? Why are you doing this?"

"Do you want me to start the machine again? I swear that's what I'll do if you say another useless word…"

"I don't care what you do at this point," the voice said, although it tried to sound brave it faltered immensely.

Without another word footsteps were heard leaving the room, and Bo ducked behind an electrical panel. She scanned the newer surroundings and saw through a glass window an almost unnaturally white room with a single chair in it. And in the chair was Jessie, clutching the sides of the chair that had no restraints. She was a bloody mess. Her breath was short and she was shaking uncontrollably, but despite all that she gave a look of pure determination, as if she dared not show weakness through her face.

Bo suddenly saw a bluish man walk out with a mechanical arm and a hostile expression on his face. His suite was a typical design, but also slightly more special than all the other Zurg cronies. He pressed a few buttons on a panel board a few feet away and Bo heard air going through a tank next to her. She guessed he was thinning out the air, in the chamber Jessie sat in making it uncomfortable to breath.

Bo decided she wasn't going to wait to see what the "Machine" did. She positioned the blaster and shot at the window. It didn't break, but she didn't intend for it to.

"Who's there?" cried the blue man. He walked around to the source of the laser and positioned his robot arm, which conveniently turned into a gun.

Bo stayed absolutely silent. She was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She shot again randomly at some technical cords up on the wall.

The blue man grunted.

Bo looked over at the chamber Jessie was in again, and noticed it had started to fill with a thick smog and the lights were dimming slowly. She could no longer see Jessie herself, but only a few flashes of light. And then she heard a yell, and then a scream. Bo's eyes widened, forgetting where the position of the blue man was…

Suddenly she was caught by a large blue hand that started to lift her up off the ground by her neck. She struggled and tried to kick and punch the man, but he was unfazed. It was getting harder and harder to breath.

Bo, choking and coughing glanced back over to the chamber hearing Jessie's screams. It was…horrific.

"That is the nightmare simulator," the blue man smirked. "It scans a person's nightmares and memories and makes them relive all of it about ten times worse. You're little friend over there seems to have a little fear of the dark, doesn't she? And suffocating, as well…"

Bo let anger seep into her. She used her adrenaline to try and free herself and somehow inflict pain in this heartless man, but it did nothing and instead she burned herself out, suddenly exhausted. He laughed at her attempt.

"So you are the Porcelain cowgirl. We've heard all about you, and I must say meeting you face to face is quite the disappointment. Stoneheart and Zurg talk about you like you'll be the greatest ally of all."

"I would never join them!" Bo hissed.

"Oh right, I forgot. You don't know anything about what Stoneheart plans to do with you. Of course, not very many of us know ourselves. I, myself don't know very much about it…" his eyes suddenly slit in anger. "Me, Warp Darkmatter, practically second in command in Zurg's empire! Yet as soon as Stoneheart comes along talking about one who will be the key to overtaking the entire universe, I am cast aside to tend to the prisoners… I don't deserve to be down here with the dirt. This is entirely your fault."

Bo seethed with anger.

Warp settled down a bit and became amused with Bo again. "Apparently they did not speak lies when they said you had quite the temper…"

"Stoneheart and Zurg are idiots and morons, as well as you," Bo spat.

"You know, if I killed you right now, this very second, all my problems would be over. Zurg seems to believe the only way to conquer the universe is through you, but with Star Command gone and no threat to oppose us, why would we need you in the first place?" His grip tightened. "And honestly it'd be so easy to blame it on those clumsy hornets…"

Bo groaned as air escaped her lungs.

"So sorry you won't be able to say goodbye. Don't worry, we'll kill her quickly…"

A laser shot through the air.

Bo fell to the ground coughing and gasping for air. Warp's mechanical arm was almost completely blown off, and smoking slightly. In the doorway was Buzz, in his real form.

* * *

Yay Buzz! And longer chapter!


	26. Come back home

_Author's Notes: Yeah, this is kind of a weird chapter just because the last chapter was pretty intense and this one is a lot mellower. School has officially started for me and I spent the last few days scrambling to finish my summer homework. I had to read Caesar and Marcus Brutus by Plutarch, so that's why I haven't updated so quickly. In other news, I'm happily finding a lot of you on dA, which makes me… happy :)_

* * *

_It'd been a month since Woody had come back home._

_Bo quit her job as a shepherdess and came back to the town where Mrs. Davis let her become manager, especially since Mrs. Davis herself was busy with raising two children. Woody and Bo finally went on their first dates, and now it seemed they were going on dates every other night. Everyone couldn't have been happier for them…_

_All except Jessie._

_She downright despised Bo for some reason. Every time Jessie saw Woody and Bo together, she gave both of them a disapproving look, but never said a word._

_Bo tried to ignore this, but it kept bothering her._

_She tried to talk to Woody about it, but he'd just say the same thing: "Just give her some time and I know she'll warm up to you…"_

_Bo was sick of hearing that. She decided one day she needed to take initiative. It was later in the afternoon when the sun was just starting to fall. Bo stood by the doors of the saloon in wait. Jessie always left earlier than Woody did._

_Finally Jessie popped out casually. Bo approached her immediately._

"_What is your problem?" she said not quite angrily._

_Jessie scowled and continued walking. Bo huffed and stood in her path._

"_I mean really, I've tried to be nice, but you haven't given me a chance!" Bo cried looking her in the eyes. "I know you don't trust me, but to be honest you don't know me at all. I'm nothing like you perceive me to be like. And I'm frustrated because you keep sending Woody and I dirty looks. I want you to know that being his sister doesn't give you the authority to decide who is best for him. The least you could do is be happy for us! And whether you want to accept it or not, I __**have**__ known him longer than you!"_

_Jessie's eyes softened, and unexpectedly, a tear fell down her cheek. Bo gasped quietly and raised her hand to her mouth._

"_I'm… s-so sorry…" Jessie said sadly._

"_No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so harsh…" Bo apologized._

"_Save it. I deserved it for being the beast I've been the past few days. It's just…" Jessie sat down on the wooden porch. "I really did know a girl who looked, so much like you. Her name was Kathryn, and she came from a wealthy family."_

_Bo sat down next to her._

"_And see, there was this boy, Jonathan. He was one of those honest working boys, who cared about everybody. He was my best friend growing up," Jessie sighed at the memories flushing back into her mind. "Kathryn used John, and sucked him up dry and left him in the dust. I tried to warn him about her, but he just got angry at me for being… judgmental… And as soon as Kathryn shredded his heart into a million pieces, he got depressed, real bad. I tried to help him, but, I was too late…" Jessie covered her face with her hands._

"_Jessie…" Bo started, feeling guilty for being angry._

"_I don't blame you for what you said. It's only that when I met you I was worried. If I saw my own brother make the same mistake John did, and if I couldn't help him in the end, I don't know what I'd do with myself," Jessie said wiping away excess tears. "He's the only family I've got."_

_They sat both pondering over the things that were said, until finally Bo spoke up._

"_How did you ever end up, with Zurg?" she asked curiously after Jessie had calmed down._

"_I grew up in a foster home in town, and eventually I got a job to help on a farm. I love the country so much better. There was this little girl I knew, named Emily." Jessie started. At that name her voice cracked slightly. "She lived on the farm, and I loved her like she was my own daughter. But, she was sick. She died in my arms, and… I couldn't stay on that farm any longer. I left immediately. I had, nothing. Until an old prospector found me and told me that he could make use of me. He said there was an offer I couldn't resist that would earn me enough money to live more than comfortably. So, I went with him."_

"_What happened?" Bo asked, being sucked into the story._

"_Al McWhiggin… he was an agent of Zurg, but I didn't even know who Zurg was at the time. He had a plan from the very beginning. He practically enslaved us, and we sat in a dark cell for a very long time. The prospector was angry, because it wasn't what he'd bargained for. Al told us that if a man named Woodrow Pride joined us we'd not only get our freedom, but an amazing job that would cover us for the rest of our lives, but otherwise we'd rot in that cell, maybe forever._

"_I was afraid, and desperate. Besides the prospector, believe it or not Al was keeping a live horse in a stall next to our cell. Bullseye is his name, and he's extremely smart. When the actual Woodrow Pride had arrived, we thought we were saved. But despite us, he told us he had to leave, that he had friends back home and nothing, not even a fabulous job offer would dissuade him."_

"_Didn't you know he was related to you from your last name?" Bo interrupted._

"_I didn't have a last name. I only went by Jessie. Anyway, through other events he convinced me a little bit to come with him, to start a new life. But the prospector was angry, saying he wasn't going to pass up an offer like that, and then he accidently slipped that we were brother and sister. He'd known everything the whole time, but didn't expect to be captured himself. And we found out what exactly the job was: to work for Emperor Zurg, and I guess you can expect I wasn't too thrilled about that idea. We escaped, and with a little help from that space ranger guy we got back home, well…"_

_Bo smiled. "I hope it's home to you."_

_Jessie shared the grin. "Y'know, I think I'm really truly home now."_

* * *

_So now you know why Jessie was so mean to Bo. I dunno how realistic that would be in real life…_


	27. She was vulnerable again

Author's Notes: This chapter is probably rated T cuz' it's more visual. I was trying to make it creepy, and I was seriously getting shudders writing it. When it comes to nightmares guys…

* * *

It was unsure who was more surprised at the sudden coming at the supposedly dead/incredibly weak space ranger.

"Who are you?" Warp asked, letting fear overcome his speech.

"You know who I am," Buzz replied confidently.

"But, you're dead! I saw it myself!" Warp started to back up and was pinned against the wall. Buzz walked forward himself towards the petrified man.

"If you ever rearrange a _hair_ on them again, you'll find me much less forgiving…" Buzz said angrily, and he punched Warp in the face. The blue man fell to the ground in an ungraceful heap.

Bo shook her head in disbelief. "How…?"

Buzz noticed her on the ground and helped her up. "Turns out all the damage was being done to the 'Chance' form. However, Buzz Lightyear is perfectly fine," he grinned.

"Well, it's good to see you being you again…" Bo said.

They both suddenly heard Jessie scream again.

Buzz didn't waste a moment and broke the window and smoke drifted lazily out into the main chamber. He climbed in the room, and Bo followed, aware now the machine was still running.

"Jessie?" Bo called out.

Buzz looked around suspiciously. He abruptly pushed Bo to the ground and dropped down low.

A giant black… thing, flew above them in a flash, disappearing into the fog.

The smoke thickened, and the two couldn't see each other anymore. Bo thought about yelling out again, but she decided to keep quiet trying to avoid whatever was above them earlier, and focused on finding Jessie. The room was surprisingly larger than it had looked from the window.

The noises coming from some unknown speaker were making the atmosphere incredibly creepy, and now that she was on her own, Bo was finding herself getting more and more nervous.

She kept hearing a swooshing sound of movement every so often, either coming from behind her or right in front of her face. Bo held the blaster in her hand close.

And then for a second, she saw a flash of red. Bo tried to go to the source of the color, but found it hard to find it again. Finally she came upon the disturbing sight, which looked like a person lying facedown on the floor. She timidly approached it and turned it over gently.

It was herself, dead.

Bo nearly screamed but held it in, remembering this was all a figment of Jessie's nightmares and memories. It was disgusting how real the corpse looked. It was herself wearing her old pink shepherdess dress she wore often back in the day, and the body looked beaten up as if it fell off a high point. And then Bo realized this must have been what Jessie thought when Bo tried to kill herself.

It frightened her to stare at it any longer, so Bo continued on trying to get the scarring image out of her mind.

A black thing moved in her peripheral vision. Bo held perfectly still, listening intently. She heard groaning.

Bo turned around slowly, and faintly saw an image of a black beast, holding Jessie in its claws. She gripped her gun and moved closer, and then shot at the monster. The ray did nothing to phase it. It only just noticed Bo herself, and started moving toward her.

Her eyes widened. Bo started to back up, but she hit a wall, something she hadn't felt since they went in the room. The black thing grew closer, allowing Bo to get a clearer image. It looked like a dragon from a fairy-tale, except it was completely black, darkened out like ink. It moved its gigantic head right up to Bo's face, and it gave a roar, sending a hot, humid, smelly breath.

Bo couldn't believe it. The thing Jessie feared the most, a piece of her mind almost, was about to kill her. Everything in her brain was shouting at her to move out of the way, but she was petrified to the spot. And then she was yanked out of the spot by a hard hand. Buzz had pulled her out of the way, and after she found out it was him she felt a little stupid for not saving herself.

The black thing had lunged itself at the very spot Bo had stood.

"Thanks…" Bo said to Buzz quietly, panting.

"No problem," Buzz replied, equally out of breath.

"How are we going to beat it? That thing isn't affected by guns…" Bo asked thoughtfully.

"We should have shut off the machine. I feel like such an idiot," he replied. "You think you can get it unplugged?"

Bo nodded, and started to run where she thought the window was. The machine seemed to notice she was trying to escape, and it would randomly throw out things trying to make her trip. She didn't dare look at what she was trying to avoid. The roar of the black dragon thing pierced the room making Bo wince.

A large vine attached itself to her hand and finally made her fall. Bo tried to yank herself free while other vines started to wrap themselves around her arms and legs. She had to use the blaster to get free from their grasp.

That was odd.

Bo didn't know Jessie was afraid of killer vines. That kind of plant was actually somewhat feared, by herself.

She continued to dart through the large room being stopped by thing after thing. She found a wall, which to her disappointment wasn't the one with the window. But then Bo stood back to get a closer look, seeing a movie projection of a town on the wall.

It was where she'd lived, only five years ago. The buildings were all there; not a detail differed from the real thing. Bo took a step back, feeling a lump in her throat. She knew she should have just kept going, but something kept her in the same spot.

And then the town, just went up in flames. Everything was destroyed in the blink of an eye, and only old wood pieces and the occasional fragment of glass was found littering the streets. Bo held her chest, remembering that day when she really did see her town, and all of her friends…gone…

_They're still alive though. It's…ok… _Bo thought rapidly to herself clutching the gun in her hand. The image was so traumatic…

"BO!" Buzz called urgently from the other side of the room. His voice seemed so distant to her. She tried to breathe.

The image was now showing the inside of the old saloon, with everyone she knew and loved, and they all slowly, one at a time, disappeared.

"Please!" Buzz cried again.

An unknown voice from somewhere else started to talk. "Look at what you've become. Look at who you are now. Nothing will ever be the same…"

Bo trembled, holding her head, dropping her weapon onto the floor.

"Don't listen! Bo please don't listen! Get to the machine! Jessie…!"

"You'll never see them all again. It's too late…"

"You have to listen to me! The window is right next to you!"

Voices were screaming in her mind. She fell to the floor feeling incredibly weak. She was vulnerable again, naive again, weak again. Bo was the insecure shepherdess, not meant for space, or for fighting. She had hated fighting, more than anything else. Bo opened her eyes for a moment with a blurry vision.

The window. It seemed like it was so close, but she couldn't reach it.

She clenched her fists, suddenly standing up not bothering for the blaster. Bo jumped through it quickly finding herself back into the control room and seeing the panel behind the entire machine. Her hands were in fists so hard that she was digging her fingernails into her skin, but she didn't care.

Bo grabbed the wires, unsure how to work the machine, and pulled them out hard, seeing sparks shoot out. The smoke inside the now blank room settled.

She ran back up to the window quickly, inpatient for the fog to clear out. There was a slight outline of two figures.

Bo approached them as fast as she could, dropping to her knees finding Buzz on the floor holding Jessie in his arms.

Something was incredibly wrong.

* * *

… oh man…


	28. Something was wrong

_Author's Notes: Hi guys. :D Isn't life great? Ha, yeah sorry for the AWEFUL cliffhanger back there… School's pretty intense, but I promise I'll try not to get behind in writing this. Ha, I'm really happy right now, I don't know why. I'm listening to 'Short People' by Randy Newman, and that song is just funny. Oh man, Randy Newman. On dA I'm going to post my first fanart of Toy Story soon. I swear I've been working on it forever and it's not even that good. I just felt like I needed to get it right the first time, right? That's probably not how it's gonna work out, but blah blah, I need to just shut up and write… Hahaha, ok, I'm done._

_Something was…wrong._

_Bo had slept that night much better than any other night of that month. It felt like despite all the craziness, everything was returning back to normal. But that morning, not a soul was at the Saloon. Not even Mrs. Davis and Andy._

_Bo quickly got herself ready for the day and set out relieved to actually see other people in the town, but they were others she didn't know very well herself. She had to work up the courage to approach a pretty woman carrying bucket, walking down the road._

"_Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know where the… the sheriff is right now, would you?" Bo asked timidly._

"_Gee, I don't know if he was with them, but I saw a crowd of people head over to his house. It didn't look so good…" replied the lady._

_Bo thanked her and continued down the street to Woody's humble abode. She was nervous, and stressed. After things had finally calmed down, calamity had come up again._

_The door was slightly ajar when she arrived._

_Bo opened it wider in order to let herself in and was met with practically the entire gang from the saloon. They all sat or stood anxiously, some pacing, others completely still. The tension in the air was very uncomfortable._

"_W-what happened?" Bo asked, bracing herself._

_The others acknowledged her existence._

"_Oh…Bo…" the newly wed Estelle Potatohead said sadly._

_Rex was wringing his hands, avoiding looking at anyone else. "Jessie…"_

_Buzz Lightyear suddenly walked out of a door in the hallway, and noticed Bo standing there. He had a very worried expression._

"_What happened?" Bo repeated, letting her voice crack slightly._

"_Jessie… she's been asking for you," Buzz said with a broken voice, avoiding the question._

_Bo walked forward slowly, placing her hand on the doorknob from the door Buzz came out of. She gave one last meaningful look to Buzz, and then turned the knob and walked in._

_A bed took up most of the space in the small room. It wasn't the fanciest decoration, but it was homely. Jessie was lying on the bed in her nightgown. Woody was crouching beside her, holding her hand and talking softly._

_He stood after hearing Bo come in._

"_W-we're sorry we didn't wake you… it happened so quickly," he said sadly._

"_Woody…" came the small voice of the usually rather loud cowgirl. "Can I talk to her in private?"_

_He nodded, somewhat reluctantly, and exited the room._

"_What's going on?" Bo asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed._

"_They didn' even tell you? What a bunch of worry-warts," Jessie muttered in a weak voice. "It's nothin' really… I just had, an attack…"_

_In response to Bo's confused expression, Jessie continued. "Now don't get your bloomers in a bunch. I had a panic attack, just a mental thing. Spending so much time in the dark has done something to me Bo. This usually only happens at traumatizing experiences, but this time I had a dream…" she shuddered. "I woke up this morning in cold sweat, but I couldn't remember what I'd been dreaming about, until breakfast when I suddenly remembered everything. It was so…vivid, that I guess my body just seized up and everybody freaked out. My panic attacks… aren't pretty…"_

"_Buzz said you asked for me," Bo said simply, slightly more relieved._

"_Yeah, cause' I knew you'd been left behind in all the hustle and bustle," Jessie replied, puffing out._

"_Why?"_

_Jessie paused for a moment. "Well, Woody has been watching me like a hawk and everyone out there acts like I'm on my deathbed. Plus… I want to make amends for everything, Bo. I guess I kinda like you."_

_Bo smiled._

"_I'm glad you did miss the whole attack thing. If you'dve seen it, you would be out there like them," Jessie added, adjusting herself on the pillow she was on._

"_So, are you alright then?" Bo asked thoughtfully._

"_Well, it's gonna take a little while. I get myself into a state of shock, and it's hard to bounce back from that…right away at least," she replied sighing deeply, fiddling with the sheet covers._

"_It… it isn't your deathbed, is it?"_

_Jessie paused again. "I don't think so… I just…I m-mean…" She held her breath to prevent herself from crying. "I just, want to put on a cheerful face, for them, y'know? But, everyone thinks they can see right through it, when in reality they don't know the half of it…"_

"_Jessie…I…" Bo couldn't find the right words._

"_It's alright, I don't need any sympathy. I always thought those who solved their problems by whining and makin' a friend's shoulder wet were ninnies anyway. But you, you could do me a humungous favor for me…"_

"_Anything…" Bo replied instantly._

"_I guess it's a dumb thing to ask, but… would you mind just… talking? I don't care about, but I have to get my mind off of things for awhile, otherwise I'll never get any better," Jessie asked humbly._

_Bo nodded, and thought about things to say._

"_You wanna know how I met your brother? And all of the others?" she asked._

_Jessie smiled and leaned her head back on her pillow._

"…_and so, you came along. And, well, here we are!" Bo concluded her story._

_A soft knocking was heard on the door, and Woody walked in. "You… ok?"_

_Jessie and Bo exchanged bubbly looks, and started giggling like school girls. Jessie had never known a very romantic side to her sibling._

_Woody gave a confused look, but the worry in his face seemed to melt away as he saw Jessie look honestly…happy._

_Meh, just another shorty happy filler chapter. Ready for the next one?_


	29. She shivered

Author's Notes: Holy cow, this is a long story. Funny how I just noticed this. Do you guys think this is dragging on a little bit? Be perfectly honest… Oh and P.S., I forgot to put in the li'l line things last chapter. Oops. So sorry it took so long. I rewrote a couple times, and this week I tried out for the school musical, and made it to callbacks… and all that jazz. So pretty much my life has been crazy. Not much of an excuse…

* * *

Everything was going through Bo's mind, all at once.

She felt a huge wave of guilt wash through her as she saw Jessie's body, bloody and shaking resting on Buzz's stained suit. She still had an extremely burnt shoulder with pieces of the Zurg attire still stuck to it.

_This is entirely my fault. If I hadn't been so weak, if I could've just… I'm so stupid! I'm so…_

Her mind was throwing insults at herself right and left, as she finally reached the spot where Buzz and Jessie sat on the ground. Bo dropped to the ground immediately and put her hand on Jessie's ice cold one.

She looked up at Buzz, who was trembling nearly as much as Jessie was. He looked like he was crying, but not a tear escaped his eyes. Jessie was groaning and weakly saying frightening things.

Buzz looked to Bo. He was breathing shallowly.

Bo couldn't suppress her tears any longer, staring into his hurt cerulean eyes. "T-this is a-all my f-fault! I-if I could've o-only…"

"She's… having a panic attack," Buzz said disregarding her comment. "We have to get out of here… now…"

"How are we gonna get out of here? We…" Bo didn't see the need to finish.

"You're forgetting one thing. I made it out once."

* * *

Bo looked around nervously. She felt so unfocused. The memory of the nightmare chamber was still blaring in her mind. Maybe she was truly turning back into who she once was…

"Are you ready?" Buzz asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. Bo sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded.

"This is insane," was all she could mutter before they ducked out into the hallway.

Bo was holding Jessie, who had gone completely unconscious. She moved a sweaty red hair out of the cowgirl's face, and then followed Buzz cautiously down the hall. Some of the smoke from the earlier incident had started to make its way out of the room.

"How exactly… are we going to go about doing this?" Bo asked quietly, walking briskly.

"You and Jess will wait in the room next to the incinerator. They never check that area…" he replied, directing them back into the familiar pattern of the prisoners unit. "That guy you knocked out earlier has his key on him, letting us access a majority of these cells."

"I don't understand… Who else do you want to get out of here?"

"There is a room, the one I stayed in before I escaped…" he was kind of in a rush. Buzz skimmed to the end. "Almost every being that worked at Star Command, or at least what is left of them, is located near that room…"

"I wish… that I could help you…" Bo added timidly.

Buzz stopped abruptly to face her. His eyes lowered, and he stroked Jessie's limp hand slightly. "Please… just look after her."

Bo swallowed hard.

They travelled the rest of the way in silence, until Buzz pointed to a door. "Through there, it's the first door on the right… or the second…" He put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "I… I don't know…"

"I'll figure it out," Bo replied simply, and before he could protest, hurried off through the door.

It led into a hot, humid section of the seemingly endless hallways. The lights were slightly dimmer, and the place was very under kept compared to the rest of the station. She tried the first door on the right first, and found it instantly the wrong place. It showed screens and monitors of every square inch of the incinerator and compartments. Bo shrugged and went on to the next room, finding a few seats by some conveyor belts moving into another room.

She laid down Jessie carefully, and sat down next to the lifeless body.

Bo sat quietly for several moments, only occasionally hearing a sound of movement from outside the room, and the continuous water droplets spilling down from a broken pipe. She looked over her shoulder at the puddle it was making, letting herself see her own reflection.

She shivered.

_I'm… useless again. I'm the stupid… damsel in distress…_

Bo tried to shake off the noises interrupting her thoughts from the incinerator. She finally decided to look through the window at the humongous pile of shredded up garbage heading down in a funnel like fashion to an unnatural glow of a fire.

Suddenly it felt like something came over her, like a vision, or memory. That incinerator was significant, somehow. Bo clutched the side of a table to support herself, as her sight became foggy. She heard a shout of a familiar voice, and then… then it seemed like people, were _in_ the incinerator. Sitting in a circular pattern, they held each other's hands, waiting for their apparent death. Bo squinted, feeling the blood flush out of her face. One of the people had a red hat, and unmistakable attire. It was Jessie. Bo felt like screaming, and started to stagger downward, almost tripping over herself. The world was spinning so fast…

"Bo? Are you ok?" came a soft voice from behind her.

Her cloudy vision ceased. She yanked her head around, seeing Jessie on floor, as she had been before. Bo whipped her head around back to the view of the incinerator, and upon seeing no one in it, she sighed loudly, and collapsed on the ground.

"Bo!" Jessie said, reaching out her arm, wincing in the process because of the burn.

"Jessie… you're safe…" Bo said, her breath staggering.

"What… what's wrong? What happened?" Jessie replied in a concerned voice, but very weak.

"Nevermind that… you're awake now… Are you ok?" Bo asked, controlling her breathing.

"Don't you get your bloomers in a bunch."

Bo smiled, and then let it fade.

"I-I caused this…" she said placing her hands on her face.

"No you did not! None of this is your fault! I don't see how you could've preventing me being in the state I'm in!" Jessie said stubbornly, still shaking a little.

"You don't understand. I at least could've… I could've gotten to the machine quicker. If I wasn't so-"

"Hard on yourself?" Jessie cut in. "Bo listen, I'm fine now. Let's put the past behind us, ok?"

"But, look at you Jess! The last time you had this kind of panic attack, well, it took you a month to get over it… If only I'd shut off the machine quicker…"

"We don't have time to worry about that right now," Jessie said, letting out a huff. "Where is Buzz?"

"I think he's busting out Star Command…"

* * *

Sorry… escape from Zurg's fortress'll have to wait till next two chapters… :) I'm so evil...


	30. He was this close

_Author's Notes: I'M SORRY! Guh excuses crap blah blah. School and Cross Country have been wiping me out and my mother went to Illinois again and XC region is on Saturday and the end of term is coming and I have to study and I'm dead and blah blah blah… There. Ok sorry, I had to get that stuff off my chest. 'Nuther shorty since this took forever to write…_

* * *

"_Hey Jess. I brought you some soup!" Bo said, casually strolling inside the small bedroom in the Pride household. "Mrs. Potatohead made it especially for you. It's… oh, Jessie…"_

_Jessie's eyes were puffy and red. She furiously wiped away any moisture on her face and finally resorted to burying her head into her hands._

_It'd only been two days since the epidemic. _

_Bo set down the soup and scooted over to side of the bed. "My goodness, Jess. Are you ok?" she asked softly._

_Jessie broke down. "Please… just leave…"_

"_I'm so sorry. Woody said I could just pop in…" Bo said apologetically._

"_Please… leave…"_

_Bo sadly stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. She ran her hand through her hair, leaning against the door. She heard Woody washing dishes in the kitchen. Bo walked heavily towards the front door._

"_I'll, be going now," she said to Woody, quietly._

"_How is she?" he asked quickly before she could get any farther._

_Bo winced, and was forced to turn around to face him. She sat down on a chair dejectedly. "I just, I don't think I understand Woody. Why… why is this affecting her so horribly? It hurts me to see her so, discouraged. I don't know if she'll ever recover…"_

_Woody crouched down on his knees, and held her hands. "Jess told you about Emily, right? I was wondering about all of this too, and then Buzz explained the process to me. They have fancier things, y'know. Sometimes after trials of great expression of emotion occur, memories of those experiences can bring on self-physical harm…" he paused for a moment, and then continued. "There is a treatment for it, more complicated than what you and I can comprehend, up at Star Command. But the patient has to be willing to try, and Jessie just… isn't showing any sign of a sliver of hope in the past few days. It's only gotten worse."_

"_I think you've spent too much time hangin' around Buzz…" she replied, trying to comprehend what he just said._

_Woody gave a small smile, and then glanced at the bedroom door. "If she doesn't have the will to get better, she won't ever get better," he said gravely._

"_So what can we do?" Bo asked softly._

"_At this point, we need a miracle."_

* * *

_Jessie did not let anyone come in her room that day. She kept having violent fits whenever someone tried to come in. Bo stayed at the home to help Woody with some of the housework, and met Buzz when he showed up later to assist._

"_There's something I don't understand, Buzz," Bo started to say to the concerned ranger while the two sat down for a break. "She seemed almost fine two days ago, but Jess has just…"_

"_It's a shame we didn't think of bringing her up to Star Command right away, while she still had some will in her left," Buzz said sadly, drinking a glass of water._

"_There has got to be some way to cheer her up. I know somewhere in herself she still has a strong cowgirl will."_

"_You're the only one that seems to believe that. Even Woody… I don't know how much more he can take of this himself. He hates seeing her this way, especially since now he feels he has responsibility to care for her."_

_Bo rubbed her chin. "She's gotten increasingly stubborn, but I think the only solution is to really talk to her." Buzz made an uneasy face. "If I don't try then I may always regret it."_

_Without another word, Bo took cautious steps over to the bedroom door. In the process of turning the handle, she wondered if she should have contemplated what she was going to say first, but it was already too late. Jessie stared at her with the same dreadful look on her face, looking incredibly weary._

"_I don't want to talk to you," she said flatly. Bo was somewhat discouraged, but she noticed that Jessie had not started yelling at her yet, which was start._

"_I've only come to help," Bo said shakily, unsure of what to say._

"_Of course you have, just like everyone else. No matter how hard you try, it will end up just the same," Jessie said pressing her hands down onto the bed._

"_We all want you to get better Jess, especially Woody."_

"_Oh sure, Woody knows exactly what I'm feeling right now. He's never had to see death to a soul who didn't deserve it. I died that day! And yet, God had to come and take her away from me, of course, for my better good. And Woody knows all about my life, especially since we've only met a little while ago."_

"_That's enough! Woody is your brother! All he has done in the past few days has been strictly for you!" Bo said angrily, snapping at how Woody was brought up._

"_Of course you'd defend him. He was this close to giving you up. This close to giving everything important in his life… for me…" Jessie said slowing down, suddenly becoming very somber._

"_What?"_

_Jessie began to cry again, but this time she was not ashamed. "It was my fault. I almost convinced him to stay. I put pressure on him to stay, adding in the highlights of Zurg's offer, and suddenly he was willing to do whatever it took…" She looked up with her bright green eyes, suddenly more sparkly than they had been. "I've been an idiot. I'm sorry Bo, I didn't want you to see me this way… H-how soon can I get up to Star Command?" _


	31. It was weird

Author's Notes: It's so cold. Guh, so guess what? I'm sick! I'm super spent, but I have so much to freakin' do right now. So I'm sorry, but I have a good excuse. I'm losing motivation to keep writing. I need some sort of pick me up…

* * *

Time seemed to tick by so fast, making it seem like hours had passed by without a single sign from Buzz.

Jessie was progressively getting worse, trying to keep a positive attitude remembering five years ago when she had a panic attack and her will was sucked out of her. She leaned up against a wall, eyes closed and hands clutching her stomach. Her wounds weren't much better. There was a very small pool of blood forming at her side.

"He's probably been caught," she said as if she'd been holding it in for a long time.

Bo looked desperately around the room. "He'll… he'll be here…" she murmured.

Jessie winced, trying to stand up. "If we stay here, it's only gonna get worse. Someone'll find us and I'll get no medical attention…"

Bo nodded and offered to carry Jessie, but she declined.

"It'd only waste your energy. I'll be fine…"

The two slipped silently out of the room. Bo was thoroughly sick of that place. They crept through a few corridors, pausing whenever Jessie needed to take a breath. The hallways were endless, and this time Buzz wasn't there to show them the way.

"The doors all look the same…" Bo said to herself after walking for ten minutes.

"If we don't split up, we may never find him," said Jessie carefully, knowing full well what was coming next.

"No. Jessie you know I'm not leaving you alone…"

"Bo, I know you feel guilty about this, but how on Earth do you suppose we're going to get out of here if you don't get past that?" Jessie replied.

"Buzz specifically told me to watch over you. You don't understand Jess, I'm not losing you… again," Bo stated the last part very quietly.

"So that's what this is all about? Because you know both times it wasn't your fault."

Bo thought deeply, bringing old memories and feelings back. The town… in flames…

"I was a coward. I still am."

"You got cold feet! That happens to everyone when they're about to get married!"

"Look at me Jessie! I don't even know who I am anymore!" Bo exclaimed angrily, pulling on her vest.

"I only thought-"

Before they could continue arguing, Bo tripped over a lump on the floor clumsily. She opened her eyes feeling slightly stupid, when all the sudden a face on the floor was looking back at her.

Bo jerked up right away, gasping and hitting a wall. Jessie looked at the face in disbelief, putting aside thoughts of their conversation. "It's One-Eyed-Bart…"

The two examined the scruffy face finding the significant face of the infamous bandit. He was almost exactly the same as he had been five years ago, except his eye patch was shredded slightly and revealed his lack of a right eye. The one eye he did have was glazed over in a look of terror, and his jaw was clenched up tightly.

Bo checked for a pulse, but the Bart was dead.

She thought about it intently, disturbed at the corpse who couldn't have died more than a day ago. Jessie pointed at his fist, and Bo slowly unclasped a note written in scrawled handwriting.

_Betty,_

_I've gotten in way over my head. These people are different, you wouldn't believe. They have a plan to take over the universe. They're planning to lay me low, I can tell. I'm sorry I ignored you when you told me not to do this. It's too late now. I hope all the riches we've collected over the years together will be enough to provide for you. I never told you enough, but I love you Betty. Take care of yourself and the children,_

_Your husband._

The women honestly didn't know what was stranger: the fact that the crook was quite literate, or the fact that the letter seemed very… out of character. Bo felt a strange sensation, like an epiphany.

All this time she'd considered The Black Cactus and Zurg's group just a bunch of criminals with another plot. But, it was different. They were after the universe, not just some extra cash or a high position. They were after absolute power, and if they couldn't stop them, who would? Perhaps that myth that Buzz mentioned? Maybe the free people would rise up against them?

But Star Command had been lost.

How could inexperienced stragglers compare to an army of thousands of replaceable machines?

"It… it doesn't matter," Bo said thinking about the argument. "What we have to focus on now is finding Buzz…How was Star Command taken?" Bo asked Jessie as they continued to make their way through the hallways, together.

"Some say the place was ambushed. Others have theories there could have been a traitor. That makes more sense to me, thinking about how difficult it'd be to break in," she replied quietly, sounding like she was fighting a battle inside herself. "That blue man from earlier, Warp? He was a double agent himself. He was said to be at one point one of Buzz's best friends…"

The two had uneasy thoughts, wondering if something like that would ever happen to each other. Bo thought about saying something, but was interrupted by a sudden crashing from down the hallway, and the two sprang into the closest door, which appeared to be some sort of closet.

"I swear I heard them! I swear it was them!" came a muffled voice from outside. Bo looked at Jessie in the dark, who'd fallen to the ground. The sudden excitement looked like it had been too much on the cowgirl considering her current state, and she fell unconscious again.

"You must've been hearing things… I know it's bad to say, but I think the guy has a screw loose. To see those two after all those years…" said another voice. There was something oddly familiar about the voices.

Without warning, Jessie seized up, hitting a wall and knocking down some items from a shelf. Bo's eyes widened.

"Did you hear that?"

"I didn't hear a thing. Can we please move on?"

"No, it came from behind here."

"You're crazy! What if it's more guards sneaking up on us?"

Bo held her breath. She was worried, but initially glad that it sounded as if these people were prisoners too. However, if enemies like the One-Eyed-Bart were roaming the halls, they'd be in trouble.

It came quickly.

The door handle jiggled and the flooding light from the hallway only left Bo to see silhouettes, but as she squinted her eyes she was able to make out a few characteristics…

"Oh my… Bo?"

Old and faithful Slinky was standing in the doorway.

"Slinky? I-is that you?"

He was at a loss for words. She stood up quickly, hugging one of her best friends, letting only a few tears escape her eyes. Behind him stood the Potatoheads, Rex, and Hamm, all agape at Bo's sudden appearance. She hugged them all too, tightly, this time crying harder. A hole in her heart suddenly got much smaller.

"Jessie told us you were dead…" Rex said sadly, fumbling his fingers. It was a sight Bo had missed deeply. She spun around and brought the unresponsive redhead out of the closet.

The others swarmed and looked on with concern.

"We have to get out of here quickly. Jessie's had a panic attack…" she said breathlessly, scanning each of her friends' faces. Bo wanted to say a million things, like how much she'd missed each one of them, but there was no time. "She's also lost a considerable amount of blood."

"We were sent here to find you. Don't know how Buzz did it, but I guess he always comes around doesn't he?" Hamm said.

A sudden thought struck Bo.

"Where's, Woody?"

The others glanced at each other with uneasy faces.

"We all were transferred here from Stoneheart's, except for him… He's still there," Slinky said, taking Jessie from her, avoiding Bo's eyes.

Trying to hide her seething anger, Bo scanned the hallway. "Let's get out of this place."

While running past various doors and dodging agents, the former shepherdess took the time to examine her friends running along side her.

It was weird.

They all looked the same, generally. They all were worn down, however, the effects of time in imprisonment shown. The usually porky Hamm had become considerably smaller, probably because of a lack of nutrition. They all looked like they hadn't had a decent meal in… well… years.

She studied Estelle Potatohead's face. It was the same in the sense of shape and size, but something new had appeared. It was hard to describe, but it was like the happiness was being sucked out of her.

Bo forced herself to look away.

The group stopped at an open door. Slinky poked his head in slowly, and then entered. The others followed.

"Buzz!"

And there he was, sitting on a chair in the apparent prison cell, looking like he'd just swallowed fire. He leaped up immediately, and went strait to Jessie. He gave a thankful look to Bo, and then beckoned the group towards the back of the cell.

"Most of Star Command has made it out. It's just us left," he said absently, fumbling with one of his gadgets on his wrist.

"How on Earth did you pull that off?" Bo said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Before he could reply, a much more sinister voice rang through the small prison.

"End of the line, Lightyear."

And there stood Emperor Zurg himself, with Warp Darkmatter standing beside him, and who knew how many hornets.

Bo could only smirk at Warp's fresh black eye.

* * *

_Can you wait one more chapter? I'm sorry, it ran a little longer than I expected…and I guess I wanted to make it epic…Oh P.S. the word married? You might want to remember that… It's kind of important. Cough cough… thinking about when Bo saw her town go up in flames… references to the very first chapter… cough cough… I hope this is all tying together._


	32. She sighed

_Author's Notes: Well I'm over that freakin' angsty sistah. Sorry for that, just pretend that didn't exist. I'm in such a good mood right now, and I have to THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Something that got me through my stupid moody self was reading the reviews again, so thank you so much! Man, when this story is over, I gotta start thinking about another long epic, but I think I'll stick to one-shots for a little while. What am I doing? I shouldn't be thinking about what comes after, haha. I need to be writing. So another kind of calm comicish relief in this one including happy bits of Buzz and Jessie fluff! I have to progress their relationship, don't I?(This is just for you Ally2497… hahaha) Yays the fluff!. I know, great comparison to the last chapter, right? Ha ok, I'm done. Isn't it obvious I'm still a little sick?_

* * *

_Bo gazed longingly out the window into the deep, dark, space. It went on forever in every direction. The thousands of little stars reflected in her baby blue eyes. Here she was again._

_Woody didn't want her to come. In fact, they got in a bit of an argument about it, and hadn't really talked to each other since. She supposed he had the right to be a bit overprotective, since they had been seeing each other for a while now. Still, she hated to be babied by him like this. He'd used the word fragile, which was a word she was sick of hearing._

_Being there for almost three weeks, Bo desperately wanted to talk to him, and his sister. No one was allowed to see her, until tomorrow at least._

_She sighed._

"_He'll turn around, you'll see," came a rather timid voice from behind her. Bo jumped. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you!"_

_Buzz stood awkwardly a few feet away._

"_It's just fine Buzz, how did you know…? Never mind, what's up?"_

"_Well… I don't know how to say this…" he started, shuffling his feet. Bo could have laughed, but she held it in._

"_It's about Jessie, isn't it?" she asked, reading his thoughts._

"_I…well… I mean… Yes. It's about her…She, she hasn't even noticed me…" he stuttered, twiddling his fingers._

"_If you haven't noticed, she has got a lot on her plate right now…" Bo replied, smiling warmly._

"_I just, want to make a good impression on her when we are permitted to see her…"_

_Bo tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps you should see her tonight…" Buzz looked utterly shocked. "Yeah, that would be so romantic."_

"_B-but the doctor told us specifically…I hardly even know her!" he exclaimed._

"_Buzz, are you going to live uniformly your whole life? I'll bet she's been dying to see someone for days, and imagine how happy she'd be to see you. That would leave a very nice first impression…" Bo said, almost giggling to herself. She'd never thought about it, but Buzz and Jessie would've made a cute couple. Jessie was so outgoing, and Buzz was extremely shy around her._

"_I can't… I'd look so… stupid," he said dejectedly._

"_If you don't do it now, you'll never do it. You'll end up waiting until she's walks away with another lucky man," Bo said, stepping forward and placing a delicate hand on Buzz's shoulder._

_He gave a little smile, and then walked away._

"_Y'know, I know you're not happy with me, but did you really have to go and do something like that?" said another voice, surprising her once more. Bo whipped her head around, and saw Woody leaning against a wall with a face mixed with emotions._

"_What are you talking about?" she asked, confused. "Were you, spying on me?"_

"_I understand Bo, I just didn't think that you and Buzz-"_

"_Wait, you think something is going on between me and him?" Bo asked completely incredulous._

_Woody sighed. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry Bo, but I didn't think you'd go ahead and do something like this after an argument…"_

"_Now wait just a moment!" Woody stepped back, with a hurt look on his face and turned away to leave. "Woody!" Bo reached a hand out, but he was already down the hallway. She ran her fingers through her bangs in frustration, and gave one last look at the stars before she headed back to her room._

* * *

_The woman awoke to a gentle knocking at her door. Bo rubbed her eyes and turned over in her bed, but the knocking persisted. She groaned and turned on the lights. The room she'd been staying in wasn't anything fancy, but it had a nice carpet and a fluffy bed, so she was satisfied with it._

_Bo extended her fingers to the doorknob and then saw the face of a distressed Space Ranger._

"_Buzz, what on Earth…?"_

"_Bo, I can't do it. I just can't…" he said, looking extremely nervous._

"_What… Jessie? Darn it, Buzz…" Bo said, trying to adjust to the light. It had to be at least midnight._

"_Will, will you come with me?"_

"_Are you joking? I have a feeling it'd be just a little less romantic with li'l old me sitting there. And honestly, I don't need to give Woody another reason to believe that you and me…" Bo trailed off, deciding it wise not to tell the rest. Of course Buzz had already heard the first part._

"_Woody? Woody thinks you and me-"_

"_Forget about it. Just, me and Woody are having some issues with each other right now," she said leaning against the frame in the doorway._

"_Well, anyway, I just want you to walk me there, just to, y'know, prevent me from chickening out?"_

_Bo rolled her eyes. "Let me get my slippers…"_

_So the odd pair walked down the cold hallway, towards the medical wing. Jessie had a room all to herself, unlike some of the patients. She'd gone under some sort of treatment that deprived her of seeing anyone she knew personally for the past weeks._

_Bo couldn't help smile at the way Buzz shuffled. He wasn't like himself, which made it all the funnier. They walked in silence the entire way._

_When the two reached the door, the former shepherdess gave a small sign of 'good luck,' and turned to go. The space ranger swallowed hard, and opened the door. Bo felt satisfied with herself and turned to leave._

_Of course…_

_Curiosity got the better of her._

_She quietly stepped towards the door, but then suddenly got a hold of herself. **No Bo, what do you think you're doing? Invading their privacy? Buzz has been waiting for this moment and you're not going to spoil it.** She took a hesitant step backwards, and then went on forward with out stopping, strait to the door._

_Bo shook her head at herself, but she listened intently at the voices coming from behind the door._

_A little yawn…_

"_I-I'm sorry, d-did I, I didn't… I mean… I d-didn't wake you did I?"_

"_Oh don't worry. Hello, Buzz was it?"_

_A lofty silence hit the room._

"_You know, technically you're not allowed to come and see me until tomorrow…"_

"_I'm sorry, I'll leave."_

"_No, wait! I mean, I really haven't seen anyone for a long time… please stay."_

_A sound of movements gave away the nervous space ranger shuffled over to a chair._

"_I just, figured you might have w-wanted some company…"_

"_How is everyone doing? Woody and the gang I mean…"_

"_Oh, he's just… f-fine…"_

_Bo listened to a long silence. She thought about getting up to go, when she heard Jessie's voice again._

"_I don't know exactly why you came here Buzz, but you don't know what it means to me for someone else to be here."_

_And then the retired waitress got up from her spot by the door, and wandered off to her bedroom, grinning ear to ear. She could only imagine Buzz's face getting redder by the second._

* * *

_Guess not as much fluff as I originally intended, but whateves. I don't know how I got it done so fast, since the end of term is on Friday and I prolly should be doing make up stuff. But alas I am lazy and yet have a lovely craving to write. I guess I'm trying to make it up to guys for not writing for a long time._


	33. Time was in slow motion

Author's Notes: I was listening to Coldplay's new album while writing this. It's so beautiful. If you're a fan of Coldplay then you should definitely hear it. I find that the sound of 'Paradise' inspired the last few lines of this. If you so desire, here is a link to the song. .com/watch?v=J6ZWlDks0nQ

* * *

She'd never seen the Emperor in person before, or at all to be exact. Well, perhaps she'd seen a picture of him before, a long time ago.

Bo had heard all these stories about him, and how evil he was supposed to be, but to be honest, she was a little disappointed. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting.

Stoneheart had been a surprise. His image seemed to forever be burned in her memory. He was rugged and large, but he wasn't the typical western villain with a handlebar mustache. His face was intense, with dark blue mysterious eyes and a little bit of a beard. He did have a mustache but it was thick and short. He wore a white hat and carried two black pistols.

Bo's encounter with him had been a quick, but very deadly one. She didn't like to think about it, but it couldn't help creep into her mind as she stood there in front of someone who knew this enemy personally.

After freeing all the blonde women from their underground base, she thought about pursuing Stoneheart, but decided not to after almost getting shot by his bandits. Of course, he found her before she could escape. She remembered tripping blindly over something, and finding a boot digging into her back.

But the thing that disturbed Bo most about Stoneheart was the fact that after he lifted her up, he… took a whiff of her hair. It caught her off guard when he was holding her arms behind her back. It was emotionally upsetting, and that's why she hated him so much, among other reasons… He had made her feel so defenseless and, womanish?

Zurg on the other hand, looked pretty, predictable in the sense of evil villain. He wore a purple robe, and had a mechanical looking face, an ultimate costume. Bo could never be sure if he was a robot or a human, but either way he had the typical diabolical plot.

However, though it was hard to imagine Zurg and Stoneheart working together, combined powers through Zurg's advanced machinery and Stoneheart's brain, they could pull off unspeakable things.

It wasn't a happy thought.

The emperor looked less than happy himself.

"Buzz Lightyear, of course. How convenient of you to just show up here, now…" he said through gritted teeth, or at least it sounded like it, since it was impossible to tell through his mechanical mouth. "And you reunited with your friends, how sweet… but this face is new." He paused to look over Bo.

She stared intensely at him darkly. Just knowing that somewhere in his mind he might know the exact location of… Woody… was enough to make her want to bite his head off.

"I'm not surprised the dump of a place you have," she said coldly. "…Since your minions are stupid, and because villains like you are a dime a dozen."

Zurg's lips curled upward into a sadistic looking robot like smile. He chuckled a little at first, and then started to laugh hysterically gripping his stomach. "You are the Porcelain Cowgirl, aren't you? That's priceless! Oh my goodness I don't think I've ever laughed so hard for a long time!"

Bo stood on, trying not to punch him in the face. Buzz noticed her uneasy look and held her shoulder slightly.

"Yes… Your story is an interesting one, isn't it? The slender shepherdess becoming a sheriff! That's something you don't hear everyday!" Zurg continued. "And to think, five years of searching and waiting, and then I find you right here in my station!"

The uneasy cowgirl looked over at her friends for the first time. They looked confused. The Bo Peep they knew was the woman who was only a shepherdess and waitress.

"Of course I never believed you'd come, but Stoneheart had me convinced enough. After all, we knew that a fake Buzz was in our hands. That nervous wreck of a Space Ranger Chance Nightly gave you such a favor by letting you escape… We were holding all of the cards from the beginning," Zurg said smirking at Buzz. Warp Darkmatter suddenly looked enraged, as if he'd never been told the real Buzz was still alive.

"So you knew he wasn't the real thing, what difference does that make?" Bo said bitterly.

Suddenly a figure emerged from the crowd surrounding the door. It was tall and lanky, with blonde hair and a familiar uniform.

"Chance?" Buzz stood there wide eyed in shock.

For the figure could have only been the one and only real Chance Nightly, the very person who Buzz Lightyear had been posing as for the past five years.

"You were the traitor!" Bo exclaimed, recalling Jessie's remark on how Star Command was invaded.

The man smiled, and then looked to Buzz. "You're not very bright, for someone who has been betrayed before."

Buzz looked down, realizing exactly what he'd thought he'd let happen.

"Why on Earth do you think it was so easy to get into here? Why do you think it was possible for the honorable Captain Lightyear to escape?" Zurg taunted Bo as her head spun.

"What about the canyon…?" she asked in a daze.

"After the slip up, we came up with a plan. Slipping you into the cargo of the same Star Command ship our hero was placed on. Of course word couldn't get out soon enough and you almost died, which would have ruined things completely. It was so risky, but so perfect at the same time, and you fell for it."

Bo felt like she'd just been punched, hard. A shiver went up her back.

"Since Stoneheart has gotten involved, things have really shaped up, including the lacking of good supporters," Chance chimed in with an arrogant tone. He glanced towards Warp.

The blue man snapped.

Without warning he jumped on the surprised other double agent, and wrestled him to the ground. Zurg was infuriated.

He was distracted.

Buzz who had seemed to be completely lifeless suddenly sprang into action and handed Bo a space mask. She took it and put it on, watching her other friends do the same. By the time Zurg had pried the two feuding men apart and sent his hornets flooding into the room, Buzz pressed a button on his suit. They all grabbed hands as a large booming noise started to fill the station.

Bo gripped Buzz's hands hard as all of the sudden a giant hole had blown through the small cell. She resisted the pull of the vacuum of space, but the space ranger gave her a reassuring look and gave her hand a squeeze. She reluctantly relaxed and like a flash they were sucked out of the station.

All Bo could recall seeing last was the enraged look on Zurg's face.

She closed her eyes, feeling an exhilarating push through the empty space. In her other hand she held Slinky's, who was still holding the swooned cowgirl.

And despite their situation, how close once again she probably should have tasted death, Bo smiled. Her eyes fluttered open, seeing the stars so clearly. Buzz had the wings of his suit extended, moving effortlessly. Behind them were several Hornets who were chasing them in vain. Their suits weren't nearly as nice as the Star Command ones were.

Time was in slow motion.

Bo faced upwards, or at least what she thought was up. A white ceiling quickly replaced the brilliant view of the stars and she and the others touched the ground. They were in a very large Star Command Vessel.

* * *

_Did I surprise you? I was kind of hoping to. This story has a lot of twists, and this one I've been thinking about for awhile. I really appreciate your reviews guys! It's hard to say how many chapters left, but don't forget about Woody! Haha, thanks so much!_


	34. A silly cowboy

_Author's Notes: This chapter is extremely short, and probably really suckish. Oh well… sigh… Thanks so much for the reviews, you're so awesome. You deserve awesome cookies. This week I'm in the show Thoroughly Modern Millie, so probably not gonna be doing much writing this week. Thanks a bundle of grapes!_

* * *

"_**Bo?"**_

"_**Woody? N-not again…"**_

"_**Bo what's happened to you? Look at you."**_

"_**I'm the same, I promise I'm the same. Nothing has changed. I'm the girl you know Woody!"**_

"_**I know you want things to be the way they were, but they can't."**_

"_**W-why? Please stop this!"**_

"_**You killed him."**_

_Bo gasped for air. She'd had a nightmare, similar to the one she had the first time she spent a night at Star Command. Although the images were vivid in her dream, they slowly started to disappear, and soon she forgot about it, mostly._

_One part of her mind was thinking about it constantly, but that was a part of her she didn't even know yet._

_She muttered incoherently. Bo didn't know how much rest she gained that night, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't fall asleep again._

_The delicate woman stood up, stretching out her toes. There was a window in her room, showing the millions of stars. If she looked closely, she could trace a path of stars, making a familiar cowboy hat, unforgettable striking eyes, and a smile that made her melt. Bo sighed._

"_What a silly cowboy," she said to herself._

"_You've got it bad Bo."_

_Bo looked around, almost used to being surprised by another by now. Jessie the cowgirl, still in the appropriate hospital stay shirt and pants, was grinning and leaning on the door._

"_Aren't you supposed to be in bed? I'm not allowed to see you…" Bo said, thrilled to see the lively redhead almost back to normal._

"_You were drawing his face in the stars weren't you?" Jessie asked, ignoring her comment. "I saw you pressing your finger up against the glass…"_

"_Jess, it's complicated." Bo rolled her eyes and set her palm on the windowsill._

"_What did my brother do now?"_

"_He thinks me and Buzz have a thing for each other…"_

_Jessie suppressed a laugh. "Men, right? If I ever get in a relationship, I want someone who's not afraid to tell me how it is." She sat down on Bo's bed, fiddling with the bed sheets. "You have much comfier beds than the hospital wing…"_

_Bo walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her friend. They took in the silence, until Jessie's tone changed._

"_You know Bo, I never really had many friends. I was never adopted because I wasn't as pretty as the other southern belles. They all called me, ragdoll. Sure I met John when I worked on a farm, but he decided his life wasn't worth living, and Emily… I just didn't think it was worth it anymore…"_

"_You don't have to worry about them anymore. You're here, with us," Bo said comfortingly. "You're part of the family now, whether you want to be or not."_

_Jessie smiled one of those rare golden smiles that could melt through the coldest of people._

* * *

_Later that day Jessie snuck back into her hospital room, with a new sense of energy about her. When the stiff doctor finally allowed Jessie to have visitors, she was almost giddy. The treatment had been a miracle._

_Woody, Bo, and Buzz were the only ones who had gone to Star Command with Jessie. The captains discouraged the others coming, but Jessie had already spoken with her new friends on Earth through video._

_Woody leaned over hugged his sister softly and whispered something in her ear. She rolled her eyes, but grinned. He avoided eye contact with Bo while standing up._

"_What on Earth are you doing?" Jessie said from her bed, putting her hands on her hips. Woody looked back at her confused._

"_What?"_

"_I said what're you doing Woody? You're gonna let this one get away!" she replied, gesturing to Bo._

"_I think I'm too late. I saw you and Buzz…" he said, finally looking up at the porcelain like figure, with mixed feelings of frustration and hurt._

"_Buzz was asking me for advice, Woody! That's all!" Bo said in an exasperated tone._

_Buzz finally spoke up from his quiet corner. "Trust me, it was only about-"_

_Suddenly the entire station jerked to a side. Bo slammed against the wall, groaning and rubbing her shoulder. She was probably going to get a bruise there. Jessie herself had fallen out of her bed and landed ungracefully on top of Buzz, who blushed intensely._

_Woody scrambled up and untangled the cowgirl and the space ranger, and then ran out the door. Buzz wasn't too far behind him. Bo and Jessie gave each other uneasy looks._

_When the second bang came, the two girls were prepared and hung onto the bed. Bo staggered over to the door and looked out to the suddenly darkened hallway. A man was pointing a gun strait at her chest._


	35. They both gasped

Author's Notes: Happy post Thanksgiving everybody! You wanna know what I'm thankful for? 1. The play is over, so hopefully my life can get back to normal… 2. No school! Yay! So, this chapter is sad. I don't know how sad you'll find it, but I couldn't help thinking it was pretty sad while writing it… maybe I'm too emotional.

* * *

Buzz sat in the corner. It was hard to believe since the entire body of Star Command was chattering excitedly with a new sense of hope about them. Or, at least of what was left of them.

Bo tried to remember the amount of people she'd seen when she first stumbled upon a Star Command ship. They weren't even all of the millions of rangers in the galactic alliance, but yet the group that stood before her didn't even compare to amount on the ship.

Slinky and the others had gone with a medic immediately to help Jessie, who hadn't given a sign that she was still alive. Bo would have gone with them, had she not seen Buzz.

She walked quietly towards his spot at the sad remains of a desk. The station must have been abandoned for quite some time. Its condition was devastating.

"Buzz," Bo started carefully.

"I caused this to happen…" he said, hands over his face.

She winced at the remark. It was… depressing.

"No you didn't Buzz. You saved Star Command, look around you!"

"I let them be caught! It was my stupidity that caused all of this. Thousands dead, thousands more injured…"

Bo knelt down to his sitting level, and moved aside his hands. She looked at him intensely, studying his emotions. "Jessie-"

"How could she ever trust me again if I can't even protect her? I don't know what she went through while with Stoneheart. I don't know what they all went through…" Buzz interrupted, his cerulean eyes reflecting the stars through the window.

"Jessie trusts you still. They all do. I trust you. You're one of the bravest people I've ever met. We still have a chance at stopping all of this. You have to talk to them, Buzz. Maybe they have information on Stoneheart we don't."

He nodded solemnly, and then stood.

And Buzz Lightyear faced them as a hero.

* * *

Bo tried to calm her ever pressing emotions as she and Buzz alone approached Earth. Straggler rangers were last spotted near the town where Bo and Jess had met Dolly before they had any time to question what Stoneheart was doing. As soon as Buzz heard this, Bo knew a twang of guilt went through him because of his expression. They'd left them all alone, to deal with the bandits…

They hadn't heard much about Jessie's condition, and that bothered the both of them.

Before they left, some of the rangers had offered Bo a suit. She declined however. Bo wasn't about to be put in some fancy electronic device she had no idea how to work.

As they arrived on Earth at the spot, the wreckage was devastating. Wood pieces were scattered all around, as well as shards of broken glass. The saloon was barely standing, the doors in splinters and the insides just as bad.

Bo took a deep breath. The scenery was too similar to that scarring image in her mind of her old town. She shook her head and followed Buzz into the remains of the saloon.

"We left them, defenseless…" the weary ranger said examining the piles of rubble.

"Do you see anything, or anyone?" Bo called out.

"No… wait, here's… something…" Buzz fished through some fallen boards. Something brown was on the floor, and Bo noticed it too. She helped him pull it out.

They both gasped.

Bo was so dumbstruck she fell over, knocking down one of the only remaining standing tables. For the object Buzz held in his hand was a brown leather cowboy hat that had unmistakably belonged to a very close friend of theirs.

Buzz fingered it gingerly, while Bo attempted to regain her senses. She stood up carefully and reached her porcelain fingers to touch the hat. It had the same feel, the same flexibility, even the same smell. And then out of the corner of her eye she saw something else on the floor. Bo picked it up and found that it was a note, in very messy handwriting. Buzz looked over her shoulder.

_**No doubt you have escaped Zurg. Not a very bright person; I couldn't have expected him to hold onto you for more than a few hours.**_

Bo eyed Buzz cautiously, and then continued to read.

_**So did you find his hat? I was ecstatic when he left it here, and I knew you'd be dying to see it after all those years.**_

_**I'm going to kill him, I hope you know that.**_

_**Of course, unless you come to the place where we encountered, face to face for the first time in two days at sunset, maybe he'll be there, waiting for you.**_

Bo's hands were trembling by the time she read the last line. Before she could utter a word, a small voice spoke out from behind one of the counters.

"The cowboy, he left it here hoping you'd find it…"

"Dolly…?" Buzz questioned softly.

The purple haired waitress hardly seemed like herself since they last saw her. She was still in her orange dress, even more ratted than before.

"You're Buzz Lightyear, aren't you? Chance, Chance Nightly told me about you. Is he ok?" Dolly turned to Bo. "You were with him. Please tell me he's ok."

Bo was still in shock about finding Woody's hat. She wanted to know more about what she'd said earlier.

Buzz took a deep breath. "Dolly… I… I don't know how to tell you this."

"He's gone, isn't he?" she said in a whisper, shaking her head slowly.

"Dolly please, don't-"

"He never knew," she cried, starting to let tears run freely. "He never knew how much it hurt to let him go out there, not ever knowing if he'd come back alive. He never knew how much I really loved him. He talked about the girl he left behind that he didn't save, and how much he still loved her."

Bo and Buzz looked at each other. Buzz's eyes were fraught, unsure of what to say or do. Dolly had been one of his best friends, how could he have mixed up her feelings for him?

"I always wanted to tell him, and part of me knew one day he wasn't going to come back. I knew he didn't feel the same way about me, but I thought if I could just tell him, that maybe he'd understand…" she continued, looking at the top of the mangled remains of the saloon, trying to control her crying. "I thought he could just quit being a ranger, and that we'd run away together, forgetting all of the problems in the universe."

"Dolly," Buzz said softly. "The real Chance is a traitor. He works for emperor Zurg now."

She looked up at him with sad, confused brown eyes. "T-the real Chance?"

Buzz swallowed hard. "I… I was posing as Chance for awhile, when I stumbled upon this place, and met you." He paused to clear his throat. "The girl Chance… I told you about is real. I promised her, before we found each other again, that we'd get married and I'd quit my job…"

Bo almost wanted to cry herself. Dolly's heart was breaking, and all three of them could feel it.

The waitress backed and hit the counter.

"Dolly, are you up here? We need to get back underground before the patrols come again…" said a new voice coming up from behind the counter.

Dolly ran. Behind the counter must have been a passageway, because soon she was out of sight.

The other person was a bit larger, with blonde hair and blue tints here and there. She gasped seeing Bo and Buzz standing there, holding Woody's hat. She was about to say something, when noises were heard outside of the saloon.

"Hurry, we have to get out of sight," she said beckoning them to a staircase behind the counter.

* * *

_I wanted to make Dolly's story a bit of a sad one. A waitress in love with a space ranger, who turned out to be someone she didn't know. I really like Dolly, I promise. I wanted to explore her side a little bit more._


	36. She'd had it

_Author's Notes: Yup. I'm dumb. As if I didn't have enough while doing the school musical, I tried out for the Shakespeare play too. And I made it. I should be doing some more writing during Christmas break, but if for some reason I don't, I wish you all a Merry Christmas… and -cough cough- It'd make me very happy if you would review! 3_

* * *

_Bo took a deep breath._

_Her eyes closed too quickly to even pay attention at the abnormality of the man, or creature pointing a gun at her._

_She raised her hands slowly, trying to get the feeling back in her fingers that had suddenly gone numb. Suddenly she was shoved out of the way, and collided with the floor._

_Jessie stood there with a smoking pistol in her hand, still in the hospital clothes._

"_Where did you get that?" Bo cried, jumping up quickly to see the man in the hallway was probably dead on the floor._

"_Don't tell Woody, or Buzz, or the Doctors, or… Just don't tell anybody. I was really depressed Bo. I snuck this in, and I debated on many nights whether I should… well… end my life. Don't give me that look, I'm myself again. I'm not gonna do that ever again," the cowgirl said._

"_What do we do now?" Bo said timidly, twiddling her fingers._

"_Could you get my old clothes from that drawer over there? Like heck I'm fighting anybody in this crud."_

* * *

_The two girls travelled through the hallways cautiously, Jessie always being dead on with her targets. Bo felt helpless, following behind her. There weren't many enemies lingering around. The rangers of Star Command seemed to be handling it well._

"_Stay close behind. We're going to find your boyfriend," Jessie said._

"_Don't you think, well, we should just wait for things to even out?" Bo asked, glancing at a group of Rangers overtaking another group of the mysterious people. They were all jagged shaped, with claw like hands and several beady eyes. They stood hunched over, with wide mouths and several sharp, long teeth._

"_Woody's the only one that doesn't have a fancy suit of armor to protect him. If I know him well enough, he's fighting right in the center of the battle, and he'll probably do something risky and stupid."_

"_We're not wearing suits either…"_

_Jessie shoved her arm over Bo's shoulder and shot at something behind them. "Well then I'm not going to let him do something risky and stupid **alone**…"_

"_What are these things anyway?" Bo asked, wincing at Jessie's action._

"_Space Crabs. We encountered them when Woody brought me home for the first time…"_

"_I've never seen anything like them before… You have a plan right?"_

_Jessie let out a hollow laugh. Bo decided it was best to stay silent after that._

_She followed the anxious cowgirl towards the main station of Star Command. Apparently the Crabs didn't know who they were dealing with when they invaded, but despite the trained rangers, the Crabs were holding up enough to be a legitimate threat._

_In the main deck of the command center, the big battle was commencing, and it wasn't hard to spot from a sea of white, green, and red, a brown cowboy hat in the thick of it._

"_I told you," Jessie said smugly._

"_I have a feeling you're about to do something really, really, dumb," Bo said quietly._

"_Wait here, under this desk," the cowgirl said pointing to an oddly shaped desk and ignoring Bo's last comment. "You'll probably only get hurt if you come out."_

"_Then why on Earth did you have me come with you?" Bo said desperately, crouching down beside the desk._

"_You'dve been there all alone… unprotected."_

"_I could've locked the door! Plus I'm pretty sure this desk isn't gonna hide me for long…"_

_Jessie let out a huff. "Just stay here, ok? I'm won't be gone long, and if someone comes to attack you, here," she threw down another gun beside Bo._

"_Two guns Jess?"_

"_I always keep a spare," she said. After seeing Bo's face she added "Don't worry. Space Crabs are nasty, but they're slow, and kind of stupid. You'll be fine." The cowgirl sprung into action and ran through the crowd towards Woody._

_Bo rolled her eyes, and despite the deep, sick feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, she sat and waited patiently, praying silently no 'Space whatever' would come her way. After a few minutes of crouching, her knees began to get sore. She started to get up when she saw that familiar brown hat bobbing along against the crowd towards her, along with a red hat tagging along._

"_What are you doing here?" Woody asked when he reached the terrified waitress. "You could get killed!"_

"_What was I supposed to do with her, Woody? She couldn't wait all alone in the hospital ward…" Jessie butted in._

"_And bringing her here was a better idea? You shouldn't be here either. You're not even completely well," he argued back. Bo stayed cowered down by the side of the desk._

"_I'm just fine! I'm capable of fighting for myself, thank you very much," the redhed said stubbornly._

"_Well she's not!" Woody said, pointing to Bo._

_That's when she'd had it._

_Bo stood up with a dignified look on her face, she clutched the gun Jessie gave her. She wasn't exactly sure if she was holding it correctly, but she did know that pulling the trigger made it work. And before Woody or Jessie could stop her, she stepped into the crowd._

_**What am I doing?**_

_As she was trying to adjust the gun on her hand, she accidentally shot at the ceiling, which luckily didn't do much. Bo kept fumbling with the gun until a slimy, oozing, claw rested on her shoulder._

_Bo looked up and ungracefully dropped the gun she was holding. The creature grabbed her quickly, and pressed her up against his chest, holding his claw to her throat. She tried to scream, but no sound came out of her mouth._

_The monster made unintelligible noises loudly, and the fighting ceased as Bo and the Crab backed up slowly._

"_Let her go!" She heard Jessie's voice yell out among the many other shouts of concern._

_The Crab gurgled some other sounds, and continued to back up, while the other crabs started to follow._

_Woody took a step, but then stopped when he saw the Crab stick its claw harder on Bo's neck. He was pressing so hard, that before long Bo started to black out…_

* * *

Oh Bo, why do you do such foolish things? Eh, I might've done the same...


	37. Lights out

Author's Notes: I finished my main plot! :D yay! Now I know exactly where this story is going, so… well… that's good. Happy 2012 everyone!

* * *

It was cold, and dark, and damp in the hidden chamber underneath the saloon.

The only light was from the candles held by blurred people. The blonde woman beckoned to Buzz and Bo, who followed down the stairs behind the counter.

"Close up the top, would you?" the woman asked Buzz. He pulled the latched door down, making a soft click that echoed through the room.

"Lights out," the woman said again, and suddenly the room became completely dark, before Bo or Buzz could see who else was there.

Above them, on the ground floor, several scuffing noises were heard, and a bit of a muffled conversation. It seemed like ages until the noise was gone, and the woman declared it safe to light the candles again.

Bo took the opportunity to look the woman closer, who couldn't have been much over twenty years old. She gave a warm smile, hiding an exasperated weary face.

"I'm Trixie. Welcome to, well, the remnants of our town," she said, sighing and moving aside her bangs.

"My name's Bo, and that's Buzz Lightyear," Bo replied, gesturing towards the distracted space ranger, who disappeared from her unadjusted eyes. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, the patrol? They've been more suspicious lately, especially today because they saw two rangers we found near dead. That was too close a call…"

"Looks like we gained two more Trixie, they must've seen these two as well," rang a rather distinguished voice from the back. "Heaven knows how soon we'll be caught!"

"It's ok Mr. Pricklepants, if they haven't found us yet, hopefully they won't find us anytime soon," Trixie called back to the voice, where Bo could slightly see a man wearing, lederhosen…

"Well," the blonde woman said clapping her hands together. "I s'pose I should introduce the rest of us. That's Mr. Pricklepants, over there's Totoro, back there's Buttercup, the pea children are over there, and Chuckles of course, and Dolly…"

Totoro was a very big man with a pondering look on his face, not paying attention. Buttercup was another somewhat hefty man in bartending uniform, and near to him were what Bo could only assume triplet children, sitting together with a ratty old blanket around them. Chuckles was spotted near the corner, wearing a hat and waistcoat, with an unusually large and red nose, and a deep frown.

And Dolly was nowhere to be seen.

Buzz was over in another corner, where two figures were on the floor wearing star command suits.

"How long have you been down here?" Bo asked, her heart sinking to see the poor conditions of everyone.

"About a month," Trixie said quietly. "It hasn't been too long, but for us it seems like years."

"But what about everyone else in the saloon? This can't be it," Bo said searching the face of the weary blonde woman.

"I'm afraid it is. We're all we've got now. The only ones alive from this town that aren't here are the caretakers of this place, the Andersons. They were away on business when The Black Cactus invaded."

Andy.

Bo suddenly received unclear revelation to that simple word. Had she been so selfish to forget the Davis family? Andy himself was significant somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Buzz!" Bo exclaimed.

The space ranger looked up from his position on the ground with an especially grim face. She ran over to him to examine the fallen rangers.

One of them was especially big, and red, definitely not human, with odd textured skin. The other had a blue tint in her skin. Unlike the other, her helmet was down, letting her red rest on her shielded shoulders.

"Do you know them?" Bo asked.

Buzz's eyes lowered. "They were part of my old crew. Mira and Booster."

"But what are they doing out here?"

"I don't know, but at least they're still alive. How long ago did you find them?" Buzz asked Trixie.

"About an hour or two. They were both dehydrated and starving, when they were awake. We cared for them until they were just too tired and fell asleep," the woman replied. "By the way, what happened with… Dolly? What did you say to her?"

Buzz cleared his throat. "Nevermind that, right now we need you to tell us when the man wearing this hat came into your saloon."

"I s'pose… Buttercup, can you remember that guy?" Trixie asked the man in the back.

"The sheriff? Yeah, it was around the time Chance came by for the last time when we were attacked… Weren't you with Chance?" Buttercup asked Bo.

"That's impossible… how could he have been here? He must've seen us, after all those people recognized you," Bo said softly to Buzz. "Wouldn't he have wanted to…?"

Suddenly a series of beeps came from Buzz's suit. He clicked open his communicator.

"Star Command to Buzz Lightyear, we're awaiting your report on the two rangers," said the fuzzy voice from the communicator.

"Yes… they're here. Rangers from my old crew, Mira and Booster. They were found by the remnants of our last hidden space port, which has been, destroyed…" Buzz replied, looking anxiously at the others in the room.

"Buzz is that you?" came a new voice from Star Command.

"Jessie! How are you feeling?" the space ranger asked with a bit of relief.

"I'm fine. The medics here think I need a little longer, but I'm determined to get to Earth in just a few minutes."

"It's not very safe here Jess. We gotta get a few hidden people evacuated from this place before they're found. They told us the patrols Stoneheart has got going here are already suspicious…"

"I'll find a way," the cowgirl said.

"There's… something else you should know. We found Woody's hat. Stoneheart left a note for Bo, about it…"

There was a silence from the communicator for several seconds.

"Keep her safe Buzz. And… be careful. Remember your promise… I love you," Jessie said softly.

"I love you too…" Buzz replied, and then he closed it.

Bo kept her knelt position over the fallen rangers, mostly to hide her expression of fear that was burning in the pit of her stomach.


	38. She collapsed

_Author's Notes: Whelp, all I can do is apologize for this chapter, since it probably sucks. I wrote it in the last two weeks, AKA, my two weeks of hell, coping with the end of term, grades, online classes, and sickness. I wrote this to prevent myself from going insane, so I don't think it's very good. In other news… I'm almost at 100 reviews! Yay! I've never gotten that many, as I'm just a random noob who is very inexperienced with the art of writing… Even if this chapter does suck, please review would you? Thanks so much! 3_

* * *

_**Well I'm stupid. Heaven knows what these things are going to do with me…**_

_Bo sat in a damp and musty prison cell, waiting on a grungy bench. She held her forearms, trying to warm herself up. She could see her breath in the dull colored cell, and her normally pale skin was even paler than normal._

_Suddenly a jingling of keys emitted from down the hall, and Bo clamored up to the iron bars that kept her prison. For all she knew, she was the only prisoner. After all, Jessie had said they were slow, and stupid…_

_**Obviously I'm slower and stupider.**_

"_Let me out of here! I have friends, that'll cause trouble. They'll come for me, and you won't stand a chance in the slightest!" she yelled at the crab approaching her cell._

_It let out more garbled nonsense, as usual. Bo had only been on the ship for maybe a day at the most, but she was already used to the crab's appearance, and strange talking patterns. The guard crab with the keys brought her food that morning for breakfast, and it must have been lunch now because he came holding another bowl of oatmeal looking mush. It wasn't the best tasting stuff, but Bo found herself especially hungry for some reason or another, and ate it completely._

_She waited._

_The silence was something she couldn't stand. Even the sound of the crabs was better than the nothingness she faced. She tried to tell herself that she had it lucky, that she could've been killed, or harassed, or given no food at all._

_She assumed the crabs were trying to make a deal with Star Command for herself, and that was the only reason she was still alive._

_Bo stood from the bench once again, stretching her arms and legs, and by chance happened to lean on the iron door._

_She fell down on the ground hard, confused. The door was swung wide open. Apparently the crabs really were thick, because the guard had forgotten to lock the door._

_Adrenaline now pumping through her, she got up quietly, and tiptoed down the hall where several pipes and small channels had little dents and nicks that blasted out cold air. Bo glanced at the window near the end of the hallway next to a door. The door led directly out into space, with just a small deck part of the ugly spaceship._

_Near it was another ship, with the familiar green, purple, and white colors on it. And there was a window there too, bigger but harder to see through. Bo could barely see a brown cowboy hat…_

_She tapped on the window, cautious of who might be behind her._

_The owner of the cowboy hat saw her out of the corner of his eye, and immediately came closer to the window on the star command ship._

"_Woody, what do I do?" she mouthed to him with a desperate look on her face._

"_Stay calm…" the cowboy's face changed from surprise to horror._

_Bo turned around, sensing a crab behind her. She saw one coming down quickly from the hallway. The former shepherdess whipped her head back around to look at Woody, who looked like he was yelling "RUN!"_

_She did._

_Bo yanked open the door on the opposite side, finding a huge terminal where ships were stored. She closed the door behind her and locked it, hearing thumping and banging from behind it._

_To her right was a rack of space suits. There were all different kinds and colors. A sign in scrawled handwriting could barely be read saying **The Dead Suits.**_

_Bo could only assume that either they didn't work, or those were suits of people who were dead…_

_She yanked one off the rack and started to pull it over herself. Maybe there was a way to escape the ship through the door leading strait out into space._

_There was no time to think. The pounding of the door got louder, with more than one thump a second. Bo had company, and she had a feeling they wouldn't let her live any longer if she didn't make it out._

_An alarm went off, closing off all the terminals completely, leaving that option out of the question. She didn't dream of successfully controlling a ship anyway._

_Bo wondered if the door had been closed off as well, but for the time being it was her only chance, and the only things preventing her from escaping were big crab aliens. It didn't look so good from her point of view._

_She looked around frantically for another door, perhaps that could lead her back to it. And then the door was beaten open by the many crabs outside the door, all peering at her with their several beady eyes._

_Bo saw another door at the end of the room with her peripheral vision, and started running to it, while the crabs starting shooting at her. She yanked the door open and didn't waste time trying to lock it. She was dodging through corridors and hallways, starting to cry feeling an odd feeling of similarity from the time she snuck onto a Star Command ship._

_Her face hot with tears and her adrenaline dying, Bo ran into one more room that was just a simple bedroom with several odd looking bunk beds pressed next to each other. It never occurred to her that alien crab monsters slept too._

_She collapsed._

_Bo couldn't stop crying, for a fear that the end of her was coming and there was nothing she could do about it, no one to protect her, and the sad thought in the back of her mind regretting that her and Woody were never going to make proper amends._

_It wasn't honestly how she'd thought she was going to die, and certainly not the first time she thought she was going to die, especially since she met Woody._

_Yet, Bo couldn't help feel a glimmer of hope when she heard that soft voice, despite the urgency of the situation, of a true cowboy._

"_You can't stay out of trouble, can you?" he asked, leaning against a wall casually._

_Bo stood up and hugged him hard, knocking him off guard a bit._

"_I'm so stupid, I'm sorry… N-nothing happened between me and Buzz, he was getting advice on y-your sister, I promise," Bo blubbered out._

"_I think it's time we go home, don't you?" Woody asked reassuringly._

"_But what about the crabs?"_

"_Star Command is out there right now, handling it…"_

"_You're not going to fight with them, are you?" Bo couldn't help asking sadly, holding him tightly as they prepared to leave._

_Woody only shook his head and smiled slightly._


	39. So many years

Author's Notes: I don't write reviews enough! I'm such a hypocrite, so I'm prolly gonna go on a reviewing frenzy, so, hopefully people won't freak out if I review all of their stories. So, I need to stop being agnsty teenager girl with low self esteem putting down all of the chapters in her story. I hope you like this one. :3 I think it's kinda cheesy, personally. And I prolly didn't get Mira's characterization very right, since I haven't seen the show in ages. Thanks for the reviews n' such, especially to the ever faithful Madier1095. She's a good artist. You should check out her dA profile. :D So this is the fastest update I've done in a long time! Yay! Done with my first semester!

* * *

It wasn't much longer until Mira and Booster woke up.

The blue skinned woman rubbed her head and groaned, taking in her surroundings. Buzz had been pacing, trying to decide the best way to help Trixie and the others, until he heard the stirrings of his old friend, and crouched down next to her on the floor.

Bo kept a respected distance. It was hard to imagine Buzz's life before he met them, so long ago. Sure, he never quite resumed his Space Ranger work, but he wasn't the strictly-respect-the-rules kind of guy anymore, especially after meeting Jessie.

"Mira? Are you ok? Do you need anything?" Buzz said worriedly.

"Buzz?" she murmured, sitting up weakly.

"It's been a long time…" Buzz responded, grinning.

Without warning, she punched him across the face, hard, despite the weakness she displayed from lack of nutrition.

Buzz was taken aback, rubbing the spot her fist had made impact. He fell completely on the floor, eyes wide. Bo herself jumped at the punch, contemplating if she needed to be worried or not. She glanced around to see the startled expressions of everyone else in the room.

"You lying little piece of-!"

"Whoa whoa wh- hold on, please calm down!" Buzz said, finding himself scooting backwards from the alien woman, who glared at him coldly.

"You abandoned us! You told us you'd visit when you were promoted! You said things wouldn't change!"

With all the yelling going on, the other ranger Booster started to stir. Bo decided subconsciously that she had better attend to him while Buzz and Mira sorted out their problems.

She crouched down next to him not noticed by the others.

"Mira, this isn't the time-"

"You were important to us Buzz! You made the outcasts look like heroes, and then you took off without another word!" Mira shouted scornfully, getting to her feet, wobbling a bit.

"Commander Nebula pressured me into the position, Mira! I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry!" Buzz tried to calm her down desperately, hopping to his feet as well.

"A secret position of importance was all you said to us, your friends! For all we know, you just wanted to leave us behind, in the process of being demoted again… back to… nobodies…" Mira finally mellowed, clearly not believing what she was saying.

"Do you remember when I crash landed on Earth, so many years ago?" Buzz asked softly. "I had every intention of returning to Star Command, to stop Zurg and go on with the life I'd dreamed of having from when I was a little boy. But then… I met a man down there on Earth, who changed my way of thinking. That life had so much more to it. That, you can be the most insignificant being in the world, and still be important to someone."

Mira did not cry, but showed signs of weakness. "But… why did you leave us Buzz? Aren't we important to you?"

"I haven't seen my parents in years. I made work more important than them, and they were proud to see me go into Star Command. Yet, I don't know where they are right now, if they are even safe, dead or alive. I had friends on Earth that I didn't want to do the same thing too. You mean the world to me Mira, you, and Booster, and X-R… But I can't live my life running around carelessly and not have anyone who really knew me as a normal person at my funeral."

The woman regained some of her bitterness. "Why didn't you just tell us?" she asked.

"I was afraid you'd take it… I just… I figured it'd be better that way. The commander moved me into a traveling position so I could visit Earth often, but he had to do it in secret so that he wouldn't get in trouble."

Mira's eyes dropped. "We wouldn't have told anyone. I thought you trusted us."

Buzz sighed. "I know. I just didn't want you to change my mind…" He smiled slightly. "It is really great to see you again."

The blue woman's eyes darkened. "Enjoy your last look, Buzz Lightyear. I have a mission to complete, and I don't need you to be a part of it."

"Mira… you're weak. You need rest, back up at Star Command," Buzz tried to put a hand on her shoulder. She shoved it off quickly.

"Don't you get it? While you were hiding from your problems, every ranger up at Star Command was defeated. Star Command is gone," she retorted, clenching her fists. "And so is the famous Captain Lightyear, with his legacy of bravery and honesty, and kindness."

"For your information, he's not gone. He's standing right in front of you," called a voice from the other side of the room. All heads turned, and there stood Dolly. Her face was still red, still upset, yet she stood there with a sort of glow about her. "He is one of the kindest, sweetest, and most caring men I have ever met. And as long as he lives, Star Command can never die."

Dolly walked up to the space rangers, and gave a soft smile.

"Our generator is working again. We can take the emergency pods right outta this place before those goons have any reaction time," she exclaimed, revealing her hands covered in grease and oil.

"How did you-?" Buzz started.

"I've been thinking about what happened. I guess… I was just assuming everything would be perfect. That you were in love with me, in some way. I was kidding myself. I ran and found our old generator room, and figured I might as well give a go at it." Dolly looked at Mira. "So… I was right when I said you're still popular with women…"

Mira obviously wasn't very happy.

"This was what you were occupying your time with, while you could've been saving the universe? Gee, thanks Buzz. I'm glad to know you're being influenced by the least civilized creature in galaxies," she spit out.

"Now wait just a minute! We may not have all of the fancy equipment, but planet Earth is just a part of the galactic alliance as any other!" Dolly replied angrily.

"So… someone's been doing their homework. Spending extra 'study periods' with Buzzy are we?"

"Seems like you've gotten to know him personally yourself!"

Buzz tried to stop the two girls from arguing, but was literally closed in between the two.

Suddenly a flash of light lit the dark room, and a glowing figure emerged with flaming red hair, sparkling green eyes, and a brown waistcoat, lifting up slightly revealing the cowhide chaps and brown boots.

Jessie the yodeling cowgirl was back, good as ever, and one couldn't help noticing her eyes wandering the women around her boyfriend.

Buzz looked at Bo, who was still tending to the awakening alien.

He silently mouthed _HELP_.


	40. And then, nothing

_Author's Notes: Ugh, shorty. Whateves, next chapter is gonna be longer. I'm trying to make my updates more consistent. Holy Carpal Tunnel! Chapter 40! Plus 100 reviews! Yay! I couldn't have asked for better people to be reviewing this story. I've been considering going back to Finding Bo Peep and Her Lost Sheep and revising it. Well, after this story I kinda plan to take a break and go back to one-shots for awhile. Plus I wanna take a crack at some Tangled fanfiction. I've had an idea since I started writing this story. Oh and for all you whovians out there, I have two ideas for Doctor Who. I've never tried anything else but Toy Story fanfiction, so it should be… interesting? Yup yup, have a nice day! :) P.S., I hafta say in relating to the ending of last chapter, Buzz just can't help it if he's attractive. Poor guy! haha_

* * *

_Bo took a deep breath at last._

_When she and Woody left the isolated crab bedroom, Bo observed the hallways were mostly deserted as well. Apparently if the rangers were showing any mercy to the crabs before, they sure as heck weren't doing it now._

_However, when the both of them peered down the hallway around the corner, it looked like the final standoff between the crabs and rangers. _

_They were on the side of the crabs. _

_Woody lost his cool composure and switched into defense mode. He held Bo's hand tightly._

"_We have to run past this gap, fast. If they see us, all you have to do is follow the hallway all the way to the end. The Star Command ship is connected directly to the door at the end," he whispered, gesturing with his eyes to the door._

"_What about you?" Bo whispered back, hearing that sort of tone in his hushed voice._

"_I'll…delay them, so they can't get to you," he said, sighing and smiling a hollow smile._

"_N-no, please… they won't see us, we'll get away," Bo said with a false hope ringing in her voice. She looked up longingly into his chocolate brown eyes, swirling with uncertainty. It was only one gap, one area where the majority of what was left of the enemy could look just behind them and see the two lovers._

_Just one area of space._

_Yet the couple had already almost lost each other, several times in fact. They weren't about to take any chances now that they were so close._

_Woody kissed her gently on the forehead. "Ready?"_

_Bo nodded reluctantly._

"_One… Two… Three!"_

_The two of them dashed past the opening in the hallway, and stopped right against the wall on the other side, holding their breath. They glanced at each other, and smiled, letting go of their heaving breathing, assuming the best…_

_Until Bo's face changed to horror, as a monstrously huge crab let his face bob right next to Woody's._

"_RUN!" Woody shouted, pulling out his gun. Bo started to dash down the hallway, which only seemed to get longer, the further she ran. She stopped midway, and turned around to look back at the sheriff again._

_Time was so slow._

_Bo couldn't hear anything anymore. Her blood ran cold as she saw several crabs looking on to destroy Woody, and herself. She tried to step back, but couldn't feel her foot. Woody was still yelling to her, probably telling her not to stop, and to keep running. But she couldn't tell anything anymore, in a state of being petrified, glued to the spot._

_One of the crabs looked at her, and aimed his heavy and disgusting looking gun at her heart. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the days with her father, tending to the sheep. Bo could picture it so well, she could almost feel the warm breeze touching her delicate skin…_

_And then, nothing._

_The former shepherdess opened her eyes again, seeing the greatest space ranger there ever was, standing in front of her. She snapped out of the slowest few seconds of her life, and watched helplessly as Buzz and Woody fought off the rest of the crabs, with a few of the rangers from the other hallway helping as well._

_Woody paused, and looked at Bo's face for a moment, remembering his promise to not fight them anymore. He pulled away from the last stand, and grasped her cold hand. They walked through the door at the end of the hall, bringing back the wonderfully light colors on the walls and cozy warmth._

_The grand room was empty, excluding a few stirrings from other corridors leading to it._

_Woody led Bo to a desk, lifted her to sit on top of it, and brushed aside her bangs. His eyes were now flushed with worry, as Bo looked like she was going to break any second._

"_Are you ok? Nothing hurts, does it?" he asked, placing a sweaty hand on her face. She didn't mind in the slightest._

"_N-no… You're not hurt are you?" she replied absently, her mind still not accepting that it was over._

_He shook his head. They both paused, letting the silence fill the room, except the sound of the gunfire in the crab spaceship._

_Bo started to tremble, and Woody grabbed her for support. She buried her face into his shoulder, suddenly crying heavily._

_The smell of his cotton shirt was comforting, bringing in the familiar scents of the dry and breezy county they lived in. It seemed like they hadn't been home for years. _

"_I wanna go home Woody, I wanna go home," she said in between sobs._

* * *

_The dusty doors of the old Davis Saloon were a welcome sight to see._

_Bo pushed them aside, with an uncertain feeling in her stomach. Woody was right behind her, along with Buzz, and not too far behind was Jessie. Their arrival stole every glance in the saloon, and it wasn't long before a very big crowd of nearly everyone in the saloon surrounded them, chattering happily._

_Woody didn't stay for long though. He talked a bit to the anxious group, and then beckoned for his sister._

_She pouted._

_So did Buzz._

_Before they left, Bo walked over to the sheriff and gave him a small peck._

"_I never thanked you, formally, for saving my life," she said, her eyes sparkling._

_Woody's eyes dropped. He shuffled his boots._

"_What's wrong?" Bo asked with concern._

"_Well… **I** never apologized for the misunderstanding… with you and Buzz I mean. It was a really dumb assumption," he replied, avoiding her face._

_Bo let out a soft laugh and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Silly cowboy. You're the only one for li'l old me."_


	41. Sadness

Author's Notes: So… I'm auditioning for Anne of Green Gables on Wednesday. I'm crazy, I just need to stop auditioning for these plays. But… gosh dangit I really like it. This is for a community theater, not highschool, so I doubt I'll make it, especially since I've never auditioned for anything but school productions… Yup. So… cool. Holy carpal tunnel, just wait till the end of this one!

* * *

What happened next, Bo supposed, was inevitable:

Three girls, arguing over one space ranger, who did his best to calm the women down.

Watching them, Bo couldn't help some of her suppressed anger coming out again. She hadn't lashed out since arguing with Jessie before finding a dead One-Eyed-Bart. However, it crept up again, noticing the brown cowboy hat they had forgotten about on the floor, next to the note from Stoneheart.

It was an odd, and rather addictive feeling. With anger flooding her thoughts, she felt powerful, like she could do anything. But the anger was only hiding something within, behind the hardened clay mask Bo wore.

The emotion it seemed no one could pierce was… Sadness.

She picked up the hat and took a step towards the women.

"Stop it! All of you! We don't have time for this!" Bo exclaimed, drawing glances from the other, slightly confused people in the room.

"Oh, don't tell me you've got a thing for him, do you?" Mira said sarcastically.

"Doesn't your precious cowboy mean anything to you?" Dolly chimed in.

"The man I love will be killed, tomorrow!" Bo threw his hat at their feet. "He might be our only chance of figuring out this whole mystery! You two can **not** be in the way if all you're going to do is argue."

Jessie looked down at her boots, slightly embarrassed. However, the two other girls weren't ready to back down just yet.

"I don't know who you think you are, but I'm not ready to take orders from some wannabe bandit," Dolly said darkly.

"Don't you get it? Can't you can't suck up your pride for five minutes?" Bo exploded, throwing up her arms in frustration.

"I'm not going anywhere. If anything, you should all be leaving. This is clearly only a job for professionals," Mira said, looking back at Booster on the floor.

"Bo…" Jessie said quietly, before the fiery shepherdess had anything to say.

Bo sighed and turned to the cowgirl, who was holding Buzz's hand. "What?"

Jessie grabbed Bo's icy skin, and then Buzz tapped a button on his suit. A weird metal device in the middle of the floor that Bo hadn't noticed started buzzing.

And just like that, everyone except the three holding each other started to disappear.

Mira looked at herself, and then back to Buzz. "N-no… Buzz no you can't do this! Don't you dare!" she screamed.

In an instant, they were all gone.

"What happened?" Bo asked after a short silence between the three.

"Star Command had me take it with them," Jessie replied gesturing to the metal contraption. "It was a way to evacuate everyone from this place. The only way not to be transported is to hold on to the person who activates it."

"Well… that's good right?" Bo studied the Buzz and Jessie's faces. They weren't exactly happy.

"This is only a prototype. The effects of it last a week, putting the person being transported in risk of not waking up from a state of hypersleep right away, especially to those who are weaker. Mira probably won't wake up for a good month or two. I didn't want to do it, but with all the arguing, it wasn't likely they were going anywhere near the escape pods…" Buzz said sadly, still gripping Jessie's hand.

"Well if I ever seem them again, I'm gonna kill them. We're wasting ti-"

Without warning, the cowgirl and space ranger kissed.

Bo let her anger melt away, but felt a little awkward watching them. She smiled, genuinely, which was something she had not done in a very long time.

When their lips parted, Buzz held the cowgirl tight, not letting up for a second. "I thought I'd lost you…" he whispered. "I swear, if we ever make it out of this-"

"Don't talk about that right now, please. Just don't let go."

* * *

"You can't go, Bo. It's a trap. It has to be a trap." Buzz said while fumbling with the escape pods Dolly had set up earlier.

"What else can I do? What if he is murdered if I don't show up? What if he is dying right now?" Bo asked desperately, leaning on the side on one of the pods.

"What if he… is already dead?" Jessie asked solemnly.

"Oh, not you too."

"I'm sorry Bo, I'd agree with you completely if it weren't for the fact that Stoneheart has already, well, surprised us in the past few days alone." The cowgirl tugged her hair. "Look, I care about Woody as much as you do… I haven't seen him since I was taken away from the fortress… We didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Please… we need to figure out what's best for everyone, especially you," Buzz said setting aside his work with the pods.

"What's best for everyone? He's your best friend Buzz! What choice do I have?" Bo cried out, regaining a bit of her tension from earlier.

"Star Command may be back, but it's still recovering. We can't start a war before we're ready. He wants something with you Bo. He's playing with your emotions…" Buzz tried reasoning.

"If he is, he's doing a fine job! What are we supposed to do now? Go back and wait until it's too late?"

Buzz gave an uneasy look and bit his lip. "We… we'll stay here, just until after tomorrow night to see if anything happens. But you **can't** meet him there, understand?"

"Fine," Bo lied. Before the others could give so much as a questioning look, she left the room. She was about ready to collapse on the floor until a gentle tapping was heard from the trap door on the ceiling.

It persisted, but wasn't louder than a noisy grasshopper.

Bo cautiously walked towards the ladder, the creaking of the old wood echoing the empty room. She could slightly hear Buzz and Jessie talking still, probably about herself. She touched the door slightly, and the tapping stopped.

Bo knew there were hundreds of reasons she shouldn't open the trap door, and that whatever lurking behind it could be anything. Yet, anything could have been a survivor. Perhaps it was someone who was in desperate need of help.

On the other hand, it could have been Stoneheart himself, just waiting for her knowing it'd be so tempting to open that wooden door…

She lifted it up slowly. Her heart was beating incredibly fast and pounding in her ears. There was a slightly pudgy and worn down hand lying on the dusty floor.

After seeing the hand, Bo lifted the rest of the door up and scrambled upward to the incredibly weak man. His face matched his hand; round and old, with reddish hair and specks of pink, graying at the sides. He wore a suit that was damaged and worn.

"P-please… if ya have any … I n-need water…" he said in an exasperated southern drawl.

Bo slid down back through the trap door and ran to one of the barrels in the room that had a wooden ladle in it. She scooped up some water and clamored up the stairs again, trying not to spill.

She gave it to the man who drank greedily, and then sighed. All he could do was breathe for a few moments, until a clatter was heard outside.

"The watch… please… can y-you hide me?" he asked desperately.

Bo blinked. It was happening so fast. She didn't know if she could trust the man, but he seemed so earnestly scared for his life, that she couldn't help finding herself assisting the man down the ladder and turning down the lights.

It was the longest two minutes of her life.

As soon as the enemy had gone, she went back to the man who was sitting against the wall still breathing heavily.

"Are you ok? What's your name?" Bo asked, realizing it was the first time she had even spoken to the man.

"You can call me Lotso…"


	42. There was a scream

_Author's Notes: Hello! Thanks for your support n' stuff on this story! Have you ever read Fahrenheit 451? It has become one of my favorite books right now. Anyway... an interesting fact is the story Mrs. Bills tells is based on my parents. They've been together 25 years now. _

* * *

_Despite the great number of misfortunes that had come upon the small community, the county held together well without its Sheriff for awhile. Everyone had a cheerful demeanor, going along with life as it was meant to be lived._

_Bo had just headed to the Bills' home. She visited them every so often as they grew older in age. Mrs. Bills always insisted sending her home with all sorts of goodies. Before the former shepherdess could get out the door, the elderly woman beckoned her to the parlor to chat a bit, just the two of them._

"_Are you still with the cowboy dear?" Mrs. Bills asked her, patting the seat beside her in the cheery room._

"_For about five months now," Bo replied sitting next to the woman._

"_My word! And he hasn't proposed?" Mrs. Bills exclaimed, winking._

"_That would be going a bit fast, wouldn't it?" Bo asked, smiling warmly at the wrinkly old woman._

"_Ah, yes, I suppose love is more complicated than it used to be. Jacob proposed to me after two weeks."_

"_Oh! But… how did you know that he was the one?" Bo inquired placing her porcelain hands in the folds of her light pink dress._

"_We just… knew. From the moment we met. Well, actually, I s'pose it was a little different. He'd met me before, but had no interest in taking me out, until I won a bet. That first date, we just knew. Heavens child, I can't describe it," Mrs. Bills said, folding her arms. "Jacob had a girlfriend, who'd left him to see the world. She hadn't responded to any of his letters. And then he proposed to me. Three weeks into our engagement, she wrote back, telling him she wanted to get married._

"_He still had feelings for her, I could tell. So… I did the hardest thing I've ever had to do. We talked, and, well, I was bawling really. I told him that he could break off the engagement right then and there, and I wouldn't make a big fuss about it. But I also told him that if he did try and sort out his feelings with this other girl, I wouldn't wait for him. I wasn't obligated to stay single my whole life. He told me right up front that he loved me, and the rest is history."_

_Bo fidgeted with the ruffles in her skirt, thinking about her future with Woody._

"_My point dear, is that you're a pretty woman. Sometimes men need a reminder how special we are. If you really love him, you can't make it easy for him. You've got to see how much you really mean to him," Mrs. Bills concluded._

"_What do I do?" Bo asked._

"_You do what any good woman does. You exercise patience, but don't let him know you are. When the moment comes, oh, you'll know."_

* * *

_It was getting late._

_Roaming the path to town without company wasn't always the smartest idea, but Bo couldn't imagine any trouble crossing her path, with the sun just setting. The Bills' expressed concern of bandits, and tried to convince her to stay over the night, but Bo insisted she had agreed to help Mrs. Davis that night. Woody usually kept an eye over the children, when he could, but Bo had offered to look over them this time._

_The cold air nipped at Bo's nose. She pulled up Estelle Potatohead's shawl she had borrowed and continued on the path home. Bo was relatively calm, until she saw something move out of the corner of her eye._

_She whipped around, not finding anything stirring. She only made a few steps before hearing a twig snapping. Bo held her breath and didn't move a muscle._

_Something was following her._

"_H-hello?" she stuttered, backing up and stumbling on bits of the stone path. _

"_Don't be afraid… I-I'm not here to harm you," called an equally nervous voice from the darkness._

"_Who are you? Come out where I can see," Bo called out, trying to stand her ground a bit._

_A frail face of a man poked out behind a tree. He was severe looking, with very pale skin and dark hair. His eyes, even from a distance, displayed through his deep blue eyes a bit of insanity…_

_The oddest part of all wasn't his eyes, however. It was the fact that he was a spitting image of Bo's father, but much younger._

_And then unexpectedly the sound of a bullet echoed through the forest. The stranger yelped in pain, and gripped the tree he hid behind._

_Bo cried out in surprise, and ran up to the wounded man. He collapsed to the grassy floor, with a bullet in his leg. She held a hand out to help him, when she heard another voice behind her._

"_Don't touch him. Get away from here, he's dangerous!" Buzz stood with smoking a smoking pistol in his hand and a dark look in his eyes._

"_What did you do?" Bo cried. "He wasn't going to hurt me!"_

"_He's a criminal, a murderer," Buzz replied with a tone that was just… wrong. The absence of mercy was frightening to Bo._

"_What's happened Buzz? Stop this!" She stood over the now unconscious man._

"_Step away from him Bo, so help me I'll leave him here to die…"_

"_Stop it now!" Bo felt like she was screaming. "This isn't right! Look at yourself Buzz! I don't know what's going on but you're scaring me. Please, tell me!"_

_Buzz lost his rigid form, and let the gun drop out of his hand. He looked like he was about to collapse as well. Bo rushed forward and caught him._

"_He blew up a part of town, Bo. He was targeting Woody…"_

_She gasped. "But-"_

"_So many were injured… Five are dead…" Buzz was breathing heavily now, letting the adrenaline catch up to him. "Woody is attending to Jessie, you have to help her…"_

_Bo's eyes returned to the man behind her. She shut her eyes and took a breath._

"_I know, I know he's done horrible things. But you can't leave him here to die. We have to find out why he did it, and if there are others that would harm the town…"_

_Buzz nodded reluctantly, and nudged her forward to the path towards town. She gathered up her skirt and left the basket Mrs. Bills had given her containing an apple pie._

_When Bo arrived in town, it was devastating. A few buildings were in piles of rubble, people were outside panicking and helping the injured, and the saloon was on fire. Through the chaos, she spotted Woody on the ground with his sister wincing in pain._

"_Bo!" the cowgirl exclaimed when she saw her come up to them._

_Woody looked up briefly and exchanged his worried look. He continued to press a blood-stained cloth on Jessie's arm._

"_Is Buzz with you?" he asked quickly, glancing around._

"_He's with the man the started this…" Bo replied. "He just kind of… lost it."_

"_He cares about this town… but I really need him to make sure nobody is trapped inside any of these buildings. The saloon probably can't be saved…" Woody said putting another layer of bandage on Jessie's wound._

_Bo looked around again, back to the saloon. She tried to find everyone that could have been inside._

_The Potatoheads, Rex, Hamm, Slinky…_

"_Andy…" Bo murmured._

"_What?"_

"_Woody, the Davis'! I can't see them anywhere!"_

_Woody scanned the scene, his face growing more frantic by the second._

_There was a scream._

"_Keep pressure on her arm, please!" was all the sheriff had time to say before he started sprinting towards the saloon._

_Bo took Jessie's arm. The cowgirl looked up at her with wide eyes, and then they turned to the saloon again. Woody kicked down a fiery beam that was blocking the entrance, and then he clamored inside._

_The citizens stopped, and all held their breath._

_They could hear over the ruckus a baby crying, and wood crumbling and cracking. The building wasn't going to hold for much longer…_

_And then it fell._

_The vicious fire licked up the last bits of wood, and silence encased the area. The gentlemen pulled off their hats, and the ladies looked away. Bo and Jessie held each other for a moment, overcome with emotions._

_But then…a noise?_

_Bits of debris starting shifting, and parts of the roof fell away to reveal the counter. A brown cowboy hat was seen moving, and Slinky was the first to react. He started to pick up flaming boards and tossed them aside. Rex joined in, and Rocky, and Mr. Shark, Mr. Potatohead… They all slowly made their way closer to the table, and a charred hand popped out. The rescuers dug through and revealed a very brave cowboy, positioning himself a mother and her children._

* * *

_Oh Woody, what an awesome guy._


	43. She Fled

Author's Notes: Just barely survived another flippin' term. Man, it's death, and third term seems to be like the cursed term when your goal of a 4.0 turns to a "Please let me survive" kinda thing. But yeah, I was in a creative mood so I started writing. The next few months are gonna be crazy for me, mostly because my sister is getting married, and my brother is coming home… and all this stuff. But yeah, n' all that n' all that.

* * *

Buzz was surprised to find another person with Bo when he walked casually into the room. He dropped the blankets he was holding.

"C-commander Lotso?" Buzz fumbled out.

The older man looked up from his position on the ground.

"Lightyear?" he asked with shock, which then turned to joy. "You're alive! I know I'm n' good hands now."

Bo looked on with curiosity. "You two know each other?"

"Commander Lotso, sir, it's so good to see you again," Buzz said eagerly. He knelt down next to the man and shook his hand.

"I'm 'fraid we wouldn'tve met if it hadn't been for this li'l missy right here," Lotso said gesturing to Bo. "And call me Lotso, Lightyear. It's been so long since anyone called me 'commander.'"

"Wait a second, did you work for Star Command or something?" Bo pitched in.

Lotso chuckled. "I know, I don't seem like the type. Still, I was with this soldier years ago."

"I still can't believe you're here! Star Command is patching up again. They got away from Zurg's fortress. I can have you up there in no time…" Buzz said, reaching for his communicator on his suit.

"That won't be necessary Lightyear, at least not right away… I'm too weak n' old to be doing any traveling just yet," Lotso said, leaning back onto the wall and sighing.

"You hang on there commander, I'll go help Jessie find more supplies," the eager space ranger said, and then he was off out of the room.

"I really do appreciate you helpin' me back there. I woulda' been in some real trouble if you hadn't found me. Do you have a name or what?"

"Oh, yeah… my name's Bo. I'm sorry I'm having a hard time understanding. You worked for Star Command, and you knew Buzz right? So what are you doing here?" Bo asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.

"I've been hiding out on Earth ever since Star Command was taken. Coward like, ain't it?"

"Mmm… well Lotso, we'd be happy to get you somewhere safe. We're dealing with some major problems right now…" Bo said. She didn't know why, but something about the old man made her uneasy. His outward appearance displayed kindness and warmth, but on the inside, something was lurking in the dark…

"You're forgetting I was a Commander, Bo. Any official Star Command business is my business," he said with a fake smile plastered on his face.

Bo narrowed her eyes. She was not in the best mood. "This is a personal matter, 'Commander.' I know Buzz respects you a great deal, but you've yet to earn my trust, and if you really do care for Star Command, I suggest you help things get back together up there. What we're preparing to face is something bigger than I think all of us are suspecting."

"A personal matter? It wouldn't have anything to do with the, man? I saw a figure in the distance with bonds moving past this area…" Lotso said, rubbing his chin smugly.

"What? What did he look like?"

"What do you think? He had a gun pressed up against his back…"

"Listen, I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play at, but it's not working."

"I'm only trying to help you, Miss Peep," Lotso grinned.

"I'm pretty sure the only good you- wait… I never told you my last name…" Bo backed up with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Lotso chuckled and shook his head. "There's a man lookin' for you Bo. A very dark man with insanity linin' his eyes. He's out there right now, waitin' out in the desert." Lotso suddenly became very serious. "He has murdered in cold blood. There was a woman who lived in a town not far from this one. Her name was Sarah, and she was married and had two children. One day that man burst into her house, strangled her and her newborn to death. The toddler was missing. What do you think the husband thought when he came home, to see her mangled body along with his new baby, dead on the floor? This man had no reason to kill her. He did it, because he liked it."

Bo pressed her back against the opposite wall, getting very nervous all of the sudden.

"If you think for a second that he won't murder the sheriff, just because he needs you for something, you're dead wrong," Lotso continued. "You haven't heard of the horrible things he's done. The sheriff will be killed n' you, he'll find you anyway. And this'll only be the beginning. If you do manage to escape him again, he'll find you're friends and he'll pick them off, one by one. You'll be surrounded by death, and pretty soon you'll go crazy just like him, and you'll taste blood and get addicted. And there will be no power on Earth to stop you…"

Bo looked around anxiously, searching for an escape. Things were spiraling downward, incredibly fast. She looked up to the trap door above her, and then back to Lotso, who grinned maliciously.

"I can't just leave Buzz and Jessie now… not with you anyway," Bo said cautiously, hands forming balls.

"I told you about Sarah right? The toddler's name was Daisy. She had run away from her mother's murderer, and stumbled into a new family. They took care of her, but when her real father found her, she refused to return to him, content with her new father. Daisy's real father shattered apart. He tried to seek out the man who had caused him so much pain, but he was already too damaged mentally. He found the man who is trying to find you, Bo Peep. And he joined that man as a friend, barely clinging to sanity. And together they built an empire to bring the universe to its knees…" Lotso's words were bloodthirsty. All evidence of warmth of comfort in him had departed, leaving a demonic man sitting there with slit eyes and a lack of a southern accent.

"You're that man, aren't you? What do you want with me? What does Stoneheart possibly need me for?" Bo asked viciously, trying to conceal her own discomfort.

"You have to meet him. Tomorrow night he is waiting for you. Leave this place now."

Bo's eyes darted towards the room Buzz and Jessie were in. She had to warn them somehow…

Suddenly Lotso whipped a packet of matches out of his pocket and struck one. "D'ya see that barrel over there, Ms. Peep? It's full of gunpowder. It'd be a real shame if you didn't leave this second and got blown up with your friends here. I know you're worried, but I'll keep real good watch over them, promise."

Bo swallowed hard. She took a long look into Lotso's soulless eyes, and then steadily made her way back up to the collapsed saloon.

She fled.

This was wrong. Everything was wrong. The deep pit in her stomach, hollowing her out over the years like acid, finally reached the most sensitive part of her heart. These people, attacking her, they were cruel to rip at her fragile porcelain skin. They had no feelings left but to hate, it seemed.

After all, Bo used to be just an ordinary girl, with dreams of getting married and raising a family. But now, she only hoped she and her friends would make it through the day. And now that Lotso had prodded and poked her even more, she couldn't contain the screams in her head anymore. She didn't care if she died trying. She was going to find Woody again, and maybe he'd hold her, and help her pick up the pieces of her scattered life.

The sandy desert that was before her reflected the Moon. One more time, Bo glanced at her worn down hand with an equally worn down ring still clinging to her finger.

She'd run from the underground base blindly, not considering supplies or weapons. But that moment was the first time she didn't feel like life wasn't worth living in several years.

Bo was determined to find him. She just hoped Jessie and Buzz would make it with Lotso. Buzz was smart, but he still trusted Lotso too much. Maybe Jessie would suspect something. It was too late now. The sun started to rise over the valley again, and tonight she'd confront the monster.


	44. Who are you?

_Author's Notes: Here's another one, to try to make up for not writing very much lately. Oh and Happy Easter!_

* * *

_It wasn't easy rebuilding the town._

_Everyone was getting along, and there was a funeral for the people who died, but there was still a young woman missing, presumably dead. The monster responsible for the wreckage was put into what was left of the jailhouse. He would've been taken before the governor right away, if it hadn't been for the fact that the town was in a horrible state._

_Bo was angry, but her fear consumed her, if anything._

_Woody was practically working himself to death and the others wouldn't let her help with anything very important. They all said she'd probably get hurt._

_But for once in her life, she didn't mind being called porcelain. She had other matters to attend to. The man that had endangered everyone in town was only a few inches away from her face._

_No one could be held up with the prisoner at the moment. They prayed mostly he wouldn't find a way to get out while they were rebuilding the town. Nobody noticed Bo as she slipped into the county jailhouse with uncertainty pouring out of her pale fingers._

_The man had gotten a little bit of medical attention, since Buzz did shoot him after all. Otherwise, people wanted to execute him right then and there. There was a thin, blood red bandage around his leg._

_He still looked too much like Bo's father._

_The man glanced up, and smirked seeing who had come through the thick wooden doors. Bo tried to avoid his eyes as she walked past the desk and to the only thing keeping the evil man from doing something to her._

_He wasn't nervous this time._

"_Wondered when you'd be coming. It's been at least a day…" he started off, leaning back on the wooden bench that was in the cell._

"_Who are you?" Bo asked, standing uncomfortably close to the edge of the cage._

"_Who do you think? I didn't think you were that stupid," he replied, crossing his arms. "Don't you remember me?"_

"_I've never seen you before in my life." Bo tried to sound confident, but it didn't come across that way at all._

_The man examined his hand for a moment, and then suddenly lunged forward grabbing Bo's arm through the bars before she could pull away. His grip was inhuman, and unbelievably just as cold, if not colder, than her own skin._

_She gasped and tried to pull away. Like a viper his other hand shot through the bars and grabbed her face, squeezing her cheeks slightly._

_He forced her to look at him._

"_I am not in a good mood today, Bo. I'd appreciate if you'd acknowledge me. I bet father told you a load of lies, but he couldn'tve pretended I never existed, right?" he said smugly._

_Bo was trying to choke on her words. "I told you, I don't know who you are! Let me go!"_

_The man's expression dropped, and he let the flailing girl go. She backed up to the opposite wall, breathing heavily._

"_Look at me Bo, you know who I am. I can see it in your eyes," he said. "My name is Alan Peep. I am your older brother."_

"_Listen, I don't know what you're trying to play but-" Bo said angrily._

"_You know it's true. I look exactly like our father. So sorry I missed his funeral by the way. I was a little busy doing something with my life…" he spat out bitterly._

"_Stay away from me and my friends, whoever you are. You have no comprehension over what kind of allies we have," the shepherdess said anxiously, searching for a reason to leave abruptly._

"_You mean Star Command? You're just like mother, aren't you? Hollow threats didn't get her anywhere but to her deathbed."_

"_Shut up!" Bo fumbled out. She started for the front door._

"_Did they at least tell you about your other brothers Bo? Jeremiah and Peter? Bet they didn't…"_

_Bo stopped. She recalled a moment when her father was praying alone beside his bed, and the name Peter came up… But Peter could have been anyone. Didn't she have a neighbor named Peter? That must've been it…_

"_Don't you dare try and hurt me or my friends, ever again," Bo said with her back still facing Alan._

"_Why don't you say it like you're somewhat intimidating?" Alan prodded._

_Bo turned around and stared at him sternly. "Don't you **dare** try and hurt me or my friends, ever again."_

"_Lovely. I like the mean Bo better."_

_She stormed out with a reddish face, fists into balls. In reality she tried to hide her terror._

* * *

_That evening, Bo realized she didn't have a place to stay. The saloon was beyond repair. The night before she had slept at the Bills' home, but they had gone out concerning their son who lived in the city. She was forced to sheepishly ask Jessie if she could stay at their place at night. The cowgirl eagerly agreed, and Bo promised she'd make a big breakfast in the morning._

_Woody didn't come home until it was too dark to work._

_His home was the same, besides the evidence that someone else had moved in and taken up some of the space. Jessie's bedroom had the same quilt and dresser. The cowgirl sat on her bed while Bo leaned back on a chair._

_Jessie began to pull on her braid, glancing out the window._

"_What's wrong?" Bo asked, stiffening up._

"_Doesn't it put you on edge? He was targeting this town. He was after Woody. Buzz was in the bar with him when the lunatic came in, with a fancy device in his hand and everything. Those two made it out, but others weren't so lucky… It makes me worried he might not be the only one hunting this place down" Jessie said anxiously._

_Bo was silent for a moment, and then she got an idea._

"_Do you know what I do when I'm afraid? I brush hair," she said, spotting a brush on the dresser._

"_That's ridiculous. I can't see how…" Jessie paused to see the look on Bo's face. She sighed and patted a place on the bed._

_Bo grabbed the brush eagerly, and then started to loosen Jessie's braid._

_The room was silent besides the gentle brush strokes through the cowgirl's thick hair. Finally Jessie spoke up again._

"_Do you think… you n' him will ever… y'know, get hitched?"_

_Bo couldn't help but giggle. "I don't know, maybe…"_

"_Well you should. You two are perfect for each other."_


	45. She waited

Author's Notes: Yeah yeah, blah blah blah. End of school is in 5 weeks. I'm super excited! Thanks for reviews n' stuff, I appreciate the support! Nothin' else to say right now…

* * *

The day had been hell. Navigating her way near back to the old city of Barkings wasn't too difficult, but the sun was starting to take a toll on her lack of water. She found a nearby cave and took shelter in it while she waited for the sun to go down again. Various thoughts gnawed at her conscience, so she forced herself to sleep to avoid thinking about anything too much.

She woke up later in the afternoon. It had cooled off quite a bit, but she still felt her tongue continually dry up.

Bo remembered a well near Barkings she had gone to often when on the trail of enemies. She made her way there and drank graciously.

The water went down her throat like glue.

Afterwards she went to the exact spot Stoneheart's base used to be. It seemed impossible that there was any evidence of a fortress in the barren desert, but Bo knew the place well.

She waited.

As the sun lazily drifted downward, she stared hatefully at the spot she pictured him standing. She remembered her gun. It had been through quite an ordeal, and Bo couldn't believe she'd completely forgotten about it. When she was taken into custody by Zurg, they stripped her of the gun on her belt, but were too stupid to find the one she had hidden in her vest. Bo felt kind of dumb not preparing herself very well for the confrontation, but she wasn't given much of choice with Lotso.

Bo pulled out the gun just as the last of the sun disappeared from the evening sky. She was ready.

As if on cue, a man appeared in the distance out of nowhere, with another on the ground beside him. Bo took careful steps, recognizing the pale face easily. On the sandy floor was her Sheriff, unmistakably. He was unconscious and bleeding from a wound on his head.

Bo stopped a few meters away.

"So the lost sheep did find her way home. I was worried you wouldn't show…" Stoneheart called out coldly.

"You made that clear with Lotso," Bo stated, pointing her weapon at Stoneheart's head.

"Ah, yes. Lotso. A bit nuts isn't he? He'd like to call himself my adopted father, but it seems like he follows in my cult. Funny how that works."

"Enough of the games, Stoneheart. If he dies, this bullet goes strait through your brain."

"Mmm, what a tough little shepherdess, yes you've changed so much, even from just the last time I saw you," the man taunted. "Surely you are not the delicate flower that this man remembers… If fact, will he even recognize you when he wakes? How miserable would it be if he didn't love the new you. I'd hate to imagine what that'd feel like…"

"What am I here for? What do you want with me?" Bo asked, trying to ignore his last comments.

"My mother was a remarkable woman, before she died. She was ironically part of Star Command. But she fell prey to weakness, and married an old fool human on Earth. She seemed to have given up Star Command, until the members of the Defenders of the Black Star summoned her. You've heard of them, correct?" Stoneheart began, folding his arms. Bo continued to look anxiously at Woody.

"Anyway," he continued. "Once called to that death sentence, one cannot resist. It's awful, really, how they forced her to leave her small family. They are stuff of legends, those people. People talk of a weapon that they use to defend the universe against certain doom. Most considered them as heroes, but some of us know better. Do you know what that weapon is, Bo? It's a last act of a coward. It freezes time itself, so only the members of the Defenders of the Black Star continue until they can find another solution. But it also has another function. It has the potential to erase every world, every creation, every minute in a matter of seconds."

"What do I have to do with any of this?" Bo spat, still gripping her gun tightly.

Stoneheart chuckled. "Oh Bo, you poor little girl. You have everything to do with it." He pulled out his own gun, and put a food on Woody's back, pointing his gun at the cowboy.

"You wouldn't dare…" Bo said barely louder than a whisper.

"Oh come on Bo. When I shoot this bullet and if you kill me, you won't have anything to live for anymore. He's been killed once, and something tells me you won't make it on your own if he's killed again. His part is done here. As soon as he's gone we're going to make our way back to Planet Z…"

"NO! I-I swear… I'll go with you without a f-fight, I promise. Just, p-please… don't kill him…" Bo said desperately.

Stoneheart looked like a child on Christmas morning. "So you do have a little of the old you left! Well… you are very special to me Bo. I want you to like me. You're going to have to give up that old gun, first…"

Bo dropped the gun, and kicked it across the sandy floor.

"Very good… I s'pose it wouldn't be too much harm for him to stay with Lotso." Stoneheart revealed a bracelet on his wrist, and pressed a button. A ship appeared out of nowhere in the sky, blowing around dust and dirt. It landed near them, and the hatch opened. Several Hornets walked out, approaching Woody's motionless body.

Stoneheart smirked, and pointed in the direction Bo came from. He walked towards Bo, who tried to restrain herself as she saw the clumsy robots harshly take him away. The evil man next to her put his arm around her shoulder with a death grip.

Suddenly Woody's eyes flickered open.

His chocolate brown eyes were full of pain, and sadness. Their eyes met, expressing everything at once. The gnawing in her stomach exploded. He was only a few feet away, and the only thing keeping him alive was forcing herself to keep absolutely still. Woody started to resist the hornets, only hurting himself further. Bo tried to squeeze her blurry eyes shut, to wake up from the nightmare, but opened them only to see the same scene play out before her.

_Don't fight back Woody, please…_

Once they were a substantial distance away, Stoneheart led Bo into the ship. She could hardly remember any part of it, because she felt like her heart had been ripped out. She couldn't focus on breathing or anything.

Everything hurt, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She was only Porcelain.


	46. Time went by

_Author's Notes: I wanted to make this one a little lighthearted than the past couple chapters, since the next few are gonna all be draaaaaaama! Haha, yeah, so I have a goal to finish this before school ends in May. Uhg. So that means some extreme writing! Stay tuned and please review! You have no idea what it means to me! :D_

* * *

_Another sheriff from the town the county judge lived came by to pick up Alan the next day. The criminal waved to Bo as he was put on a horse._

_The day after that they found out the sheriff and Alan never reached their destination._

_The whole town was on guard, especially Woody. Bo knew that he'd find some way to blame himself for the wreckage, so she comforted him as best as she could. She continued to stay at his house until the new saloon was finished._

_She couldn't get Alan's face out of her head. "**You're just like mother, aren't you?" **His words echoed through her mind.** "Hollow threats didn't get her anywhere but to her deathbed"**_

_Bo received a letter later that evening._

_She had a gut feeling she knew who it was from, so she excused herself and sat outside of the Pride's home and read it to herself._

_**My little sister,**_

_**Did I surprise you? I hope you hadn't underestimated me, but if you thought those measly iron bars were the only things preventing me from killing you, obviously you thought wrong.**_

_**I'm on the run again, as I have been for my entire life. Mother and Father never approved of me anyway, so I doubt you will otherwise. Of course, they both ended up with the same guilty fate you will come to; the same your other brothers came to.**_

_**I was meant for so much more, Bo. I hope you understand that now. Life for me here is meaningless. You have no way of changing my mind.**_

_**I'm coming back.**_

_**Alan**_

_Bo was shaking. She stumbled back into the house, clutching the letter tightly._

_Woody had just set down his cup when he saw Bo stagger through the door and hand him the letter. He read it carefully and then looked back at her with concern._

"_I-I… I'm so afraid Woody. I can't deal with this…" she said suppressing tears._

"_Your brother? Who is he?" the sheriff asked taking Bo's hand._

"_It's him. It's that criminal that nearly blew apart the town! He said he's coming back… He's going to kill me Woody, I just know it!" she flung herself at his cotton shirt and buried her face in his shoulder._

_He was surprised at first, but eased in and held her softly._

"_You know I would never let that happen. He won't ever touch you." _

_But he already had._

* * *

_Bo was quiet for the rest of the day. She didn't want to show anybody she was upset. After all, the town was already in a gloomy mood. The people didn't need more bad news._

_Despite the enormous workload of rebuilding the saloon and repairing various other buildings, Woody stayed with Bo the entire day. She didn't exactly want Woody to see her in this state, but she was so grateful he was there for her._

_Time went by._

_By the time the new Saloon was built, Bo didn't want to move out. Jessie and Woody didn't want her to either. They never said anything aloud to each other about it, but the three of them privately decided Bo had to stay. It wasn't like she was sneaking out of Jessie's bedroom at night, but being with Woody made her feel safer._

_Buzz started to come over more frequently after a little while. Bo always felt a hint of chemistry between him and Jessie when he came over. When Jessie started inviting him to breakfast practically every morning, Bo knew something had to be going on between them._

_One sunny morning, Bo opened the door as usual, finding the Space Ranger in his casual plaid shirt and jeans. Woody had gone out with him to get him real clothes so that he wouldn't have to be in his Star Command suit all the time._

"_Hi Buzz. Jessie's making breakfast this morning," Bo said warmly._

"_She is?" Buzz asked taking off his cowboy hat and entering the house._

"_Yeah, she asked me earlier to teach her. I think she wanted to surprise you."_

_Buzz shared an uneasy look. Jessie didn't seem much of the cooking type._

_They walked into the dining room where Woody sat at the table. Jessie lingered over the counter. She was wearing an apron covered in food stains._

"_Did you finish mixing the stew?" Bo asked smiling at the various stains on the counter._

_Jessie nodded and bit her lip. "It didn't quite come out the way I expected it would, but everything's ready, so let's dig in!"_

_The cowgirl brought the stew, bread, and boiled eggs to the table. They all eyed the food cautiously._

_Jessie's big green eyes were fixed on Buzz as he took the first bite of stew._

_He forcefully smiled and swallowed hard. He raised a shaky thumb. Bo looked at the stew herself. It looked fine enough… She took a mouthful and almost started gagging. It had waaaay too much pepper in it. Bo looked up to Jessie's face and forced the food down._

_Woody took a hardboiled egg next, which turned out to be very undercooked. The yolk was still liquid. He reached for the bread, which was hard and crumbly. Woody, Buzz, and Bo tried to fake it as best as they could._

_Jessie wasn't buying it._

_She took off her apron in frustration and kicked it on the ground. "I wasn't meant for this stuff anyway!" She stomped into the kitchen._

_Bo looked at the boys and then excused herself from the table. She entered the kitchen seeing Jessie looking at a recipe card furiously._

"_How am I supposed to tell the difference from tsp to tbsp? It's not like I had a mother to teach me!"_

_Bo crossed her arms. "Jessie…"_

"_What, Bo? I'm sorry I can't be miss perfect like you. I was raised as a farmhand, not a woman!" the red head exclaimed flinging her floppy arms everywhere._

_Bo couldn't help giggling._

"_What?" Jessie asked, extremely annoyed._

"_I'm sorry, it's just you're so much like your brother… He does that with his arms when he's upset too," Bo said._

_Jessie sighed. "Sorry for that Bo. I just… I wanna show that I'm not just one of the guys, y'know? Shouldn't I be able to do this kinda stuff?"_

"_It's harder than it looks…" Bo said placing a pale hand on the cowgirl's shoulder. "We've got each other though." She opened a cupboard and pulled out fresh cornbread. _

"_Where on Earth did that come from?"_

"_I made it, just in case." Bo winked and led the cowgirl with the cornbread back out to the boys. "You have to try this cornbread Jess made. It's amazing!"_


	47. He came back

Author's Notes: Ok, you remember all of those other times I said I was close to the end and I wasn't really close to the end n' stuff? This time I really am close to the end. Haha, ok right. (double chapters again ftw!) Oh by the way, changed the summary again. Every time I see it I feel like I need to update it...

* * *

Of all the anger she had built up over the years, it was nothing compared to the rage she felt now. Bo fought hard against the urge to lay her hands on the man who led her through the horrible hallways in the large spaceship.

She was so close to Woody. So close… Yet it was all for nothing. She was confident she was going to die up there on Zurg's fortress all alone, but there was nothing anyone could do that would match the anguish in her heart.

And the only thing that kept her going now was the fact that she was so furious.

Stoneheart led her to a fancy room with red carpet and a velvety bed. There was a private bathroom and a table laid out with all sorts of fruits and goodies.

"This bedroom is right next to mine. I expect I won't have any trouble sleeping tonight?" He said smugly.

"You wish," Bo seethed.

He left her all alone. She assumed there were guards at her door, but that didn't matter. She was going to kill that man, and make him pay for everything he had done to her. Bo waited patiently, planning what she would do. She eyed the food once or twice, but she decided it wasn't worth it.

She knew for one she couldn't use her gun because Stoneheart had it. She could try and smother him with a pillow, but Bo felt like he was too strong for her if he did resist. And then she glanced back at the food, spotting a silver knife.

Bo clutched it in her hand, waiting for the appropriate hour to strike to come at hand. They'd been travelling for at least four hours and it was sunset when she had met him in the desert.

The timing was perfect.

She prepared to attack any guards if necessary, and then kill him in his sleep. She placed a finger on the handle of the door. It opened with ease. There was no one waiting for her behind the door, which caught her off guard a bit.

She wasn't thinking. She knew what she was about to do would haunt her for the rest of her life, but she didn't care. They had done this to her.

Bo stumbled across the fancy hallway to another room with the same automatic door, and velvety looking bed. He rested there so vulnerably. She almost laughed. All of her life people had called her weak, but looking at this evil man lying in the darkness…

She clutched the knife harder, raising it slightly. This was it. It was now or never.

But the man looked… different as he slept. The pale features he had resembled none other than... her own father. Maybe she had not been with him for so long, but seeing her father's face there on the bed scared her.

At once she realized who Stoneheart really was, at last.

Alan, her brother, really did come back.

She dropped the knife. It hit the floor loudly, but Alan was undisturbed. It was like he was mocking her in his sleep, that she didn't have the guts to kill him. But it was different this time. Bo had a new feeling flowing through her.

**I've become a monster.**

Bo could feel herself crying, all at once. She tried to get a grip on what was going on. It was so surreal. She was forced to come to the reality that she'd become so much like her brother in the past five years. Ruthless, careless, and cruel.

She felt unstable, insecure, stupid, horrible, flimsy, and weak. But she wasn't weak, at least not anymore. Bo was strong. She was an upright woman who knew what it meant to avoid contention and live happily in simple town. She didn't need the thrill of the pursuit anymore because somewhere out there, a better medium for happiness waited for her.

Although she was still afraid her sheriff didn't care for her anymore, Bo had new sense of life. And this man that was asleep before her… he was her brother. She couldn't imagine killing anyone at the moment, especially not him.

She sat on the bed gently and watched him as he slept, imagining days when she was too young to remember. But… if he really was her brother, Bo wondered if all those things he had said in the canyon about his mother went for same for herself.

And of course thinking of that device Alan talked about that could erase everything… things were going to get tricky.

Bo woke up the next morning to the sound of the door opening. After spending heaven knows how long in Alan's room, she snuck back into her quarters and drifted into sleep peacefully for once in five years. Sure, she had a lot to be worried about, but she felt like somewhere in her crazy brother, he was still a good person.

* * *

A hornet waltzed through the doorway looking dull as ever. There was a change, however. A big 'S' was plated on the metal, replacing any trace of a 'Z.'

"Breakfast is ready. The dining room is down the hall on the left," it said in a robotic voice, and then left the room swiftly.

Bo calmly got up from the fancy bed and pulled on her boots. They felt strange, like they didn't belong.

She opened the door and followed the Hornet's instructions finding herself in a very nice looking room with a long table draped with an elegant white tablecloth and a crystal chandelier above them. It didn't feel like they were on a spaceship at all.

Alan sat on the end of the table, looking very out of place. Instead of the cowboy outfit she was used to seeing on him, he wore a red spacesuit, somewhat similar to the Star Command suits, but with more buttons and modules.

Bo sat down in the velvet chair, silver plates sitting in front of her.

"I don't quite understand you. Your sense of fashion and interior design are two different things…" she said, almost wanting to smile.

"I'm trapped between two time periods, it seems, as are you," he replied quickly.

"So you came back, just like you said you would in your letter," Bo started, eyes drifting to her lap.

"Ah, you've finally figured it out? I wondered about that when I found a knife on the floor of my bedroom."

"You were a wakeup call Alan. I feel more alive than I have in several years."

"You do realize that I was the reason you died in the first place?"

"Yes. That doesn't matter though…"

Alan pounded his fist on the table unexpectedly, causing Bo to jump. "Don't you remember anything I said in that letter? Don't you understand who I've become now? I'm destined to destroy everything. My little sister certainly won't make up my mind for me."

They were silent for a few moments.

"What happened…? I mean, to Mother and Peter and Jeremiah. I used to have a picture of Mom, you know. I even got a hold of her dress at one point," Bo said timidly.

"I murdered them."

Bo's blood ran cold.

"B-but…" she stuttered.

"I murdered them Bo. I murdered them in cold blood. Did Lotso tell you about his late wife? I murdered them too. I was weak travelling alone in the thick of night. I needed supplies and I killed them," he said without skipping a beat.

"I-I… Why? Why your own family?"

"They got in the way. I tried to convince Peter and Jeremiah that killing every member of the Defenders of the Black Star would give us ultimate power. We could've controlled the universe and raised an unstoppable empire… But of course they declined and tried to protect Mother. I was stronger than them. By the time Father heard about my plan, it was too late. But he knew something I did not, as well as mother. To unlock the use of the weapon, you need a blood sample of the same blood as the deceased member. My blood is not the same type as mother, but yours is. Father took you and hid away to live the simple life he had always known," he said with the same dull tone in his voice.

"They were your family! They loved you! How could you do that?" Bo cried incredulously.

"I knew when I was very young that I was capable of so much more than they wanted me to become. It just happened Bo. Nothing can change it now. Everything will be destroyed."

"But I thought you only wanted to use it for controlling the universe… not to actually use it…"

Alan sighed.

"You don't what it feels like to kill someone. The pure rush is so amazing. It's not just Lotso's family and my own… I've murdered so many innocent people that it has changed something in me. Everything must have an ending point Bo. I've come to realize that I have to stop this sick, twisted reality of horrible people like me.

"I'm going to end the world."


	48. She just stood there

_Author's Notes: Buigh, short chapter. Whatever. Still trying to get this story dooooone! As always, thank you for the reviews. You guys are way too nice. :D_

* * *

_Bo was on the porch outside, admiring the stars. It was hard to believe that she had been up there, among them._

_She was startled by the soft click of boots across the wooden surface. She turned to see the familiar fiery cowgirl with a very distraught look on her face._

"_Come out to get a moment to think as well?" Bo said patting the floor next to her._

"_I don't know what's going on Bo. I can't explain it," Jessie said, pulling on her hair and sitting down._

"_Well, you can try. I'm always here," Bo replied, smiling warmly._

"_You see… I keep getting this funny feeling in me. Y'know how I've been inviting Buzz to breakfast a lot lately?"_

_Bo suppressed a laugh and nodded._

"_It's just… whenever he's around me, I don't feel like the roughest toughest cowgirl anymore. And then I notice how cute he looks when he laughs. I've never felt this way before," Jessie explained._

"_I think I understand what you're going through… Do you think, maybe, you like him?" Bo asked, winking._

"_I don't know! Nobody has ever made me feel like this before. He's just so sweet around me, and he makes me laugh, especially when he's tripping over his words. It's driving me crazy!"_

"_Love is weird like that, although you're hitting it off better than Woody and me. You remember me talking about how we met by gunshot?"_

_Jessie laughed. "I just can't stop thinking of that time I was sick up at Star Command and he snuck in to visit me. He didn't say anything, but I don't think he had to. Do you think he likes me?"_

"_Jess, you have no idea."_

_The cowgirl smiled. And then she gripped her stomach and giggled, excited about something._

"_What?" Bo asked, laughing as well._

"_Nothing… I'm just glad we have you Bo."_

* * *

_It had been especially hot the past few days._

_Woody kissed Bo on the cheek and left for work. His face was sweaty, but she didn't mind. She went on to cleaning the dishes from that morning, humming a happy tune._

_Jessie had gone out to do some errands, so Bo was home alone, imagining silly thoughts if she married and what she'd name her children. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by a knock on the door._

_She opened it to find Buzz pacing back and forth nervously. His cerulean eyes were frantic. He was wearing his Space Suit._

"_Is Woody here?" he asked, glancing in the house._

"_No… he left for work. You can probably find him at the Sheriff's office. Are… you ok?" Bo replied, inviting him into the house._

"_I-I have to go," Buzz said._

"_Um, by all means. If he swings back here I'll let him know you're looking for him."_

"_You don't understand Bo. Star Command wants me to spend time on a planet far away to help with the political situation going on there… it's complicated. They've been under a tyrant for several years and now that they're overthrowing him, they need help," he said rubbing his hands across his face._

_Bo's studied his face. "How long?"_

_He was silent for a moment. "They need at least five years to fix everything, and three more to keep the peace for awhile…"_

_Bo felt like she was going to cry. "You can't leave! We all need you here!"_

"_Ever since I was a little boy, I knew what I wanted to be. It was my duty to serve and help people. But for the first time ever, I don't want to leave…" he said solemnly._

"_You're our friend, Buzz. What about…what about Jessie?"_

_His eyes dropped to the floor. "I hope she's happy. She won't even know I'm gone."_

"_Of course she will! Why do you think she's been inviting you to breakfast every morning?" Bo asked harsher than she meant._

"_I… I don't know…"_

"_She cares about you more than you know. Please don't leave Buzz," she said softening._

"_Woody is more than capable of taking care of everyone, including her. I have to go," he said, heading for the door._

"_Aren't you going to say goodbye to her?" Bo asked, beating him to the door._

"_I've never been good at farewells. I c-can't… Goodbye Bo…" He avoided her eyes as he moved around her and out the door._

_She just stood there._

_When Woody finally got back home for his break, he found Bo on a chair crying._

"_Bo!" he exclaimed, throwing down his bag and crouching down to her. He brushed her bangs out of her face._

"_He's gone Woody. H-he just left…" she said, still in a daze._

"_Who?" he said placing his hands on her shoulders._

"_Buzz… he left for a seven year mission. I have a horrible feeling, Woody, that he's not coming back…"_

_He hugged her softly. "He couldn'tve gotten far. Just hold on!" The sheriff ran out of the house, brushing past Jessie on his way out._

_The cowgirl looked confused, and then concerned for Bo who was wondering how she could tell Jessie._

"_What's wrong Bo?"_

_Once the blonde beauty told her everything, Jessie walked slowly to her room._

_The house was silent._

* * *

_Jessie wouldn't come out of her room for the next few days. Bo and Woody were worried about her, but she never let them come in. Everyone else felt miserable losing a friend. They all shared the same feeling. Even if he made it out ok for seven years, he wouldn't come back._

_Bo supposed Jessie was probably mad at her for giving her false hope of love. Jessie had already been through so much, that she didn't need her heart being broken any more than it was already._

_One evening during dinner a few weeks later, Bo and Woody talked._

"_You don't suppose she'll have another panic attack, will she?" Bo asked, barely taking a bite of the potatoes she cooked._

"_I hope not. I knew Buzz had a thing for her, but I had no idea she had feelings for him as well," Woody replied._

"_I just wish he knew that. He wouldn't have left."_

"_I guess we'll just have to wait until he winds up here again."_

"_I suppose…"_

_They shared uneasy looks. Woody coughed and suddenly avoided looking at Bo._

"_I… I might know one way to get him back," the sheriff said nervously, fumbling with his pant pocket._

"_Really? It won't help giving up. We might as well try!" Bo said eagerly, glancing towards Jessie's room, not noticing Woody starting to panic._

"_Ok. Well, I have to explain myself so I don't sound like a jerk. I was planning to ask you about this the night after Buzz left… B-but when he walked out like that, I didn't think it was the right time…"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

_Woody cleared his throat. "I don't want to wait Bo. I don't want to wait any longer. I love you and I… well…erm…"_

_He slowly got down on one knee and pulled a little box from his pocket. A simple but elegant ring was nestled inside._


	49. This was not good

Author's Notes: I've been hogging these chapters for awhile to make sure they go the direction I want them to. Sorry it's been forever since an update.

* * *

Bo lingered in her bedroom for the remainder of the trip. She tried to occupy herself somehow. The thick situation had just settled in her mind. She had to escape Alan and avoid losing any blood. And then there was getting back to her friends, and Woody…

It was going to be difficult.

She shivered, thinking back to those days the town was still standing. It no longer hurt to remember. She embraced the memories like an old friend.

Bo was a little afraid of what was to become of her. If she failed to escape, the entire universe would be destroyed. If she killed herself back on Earth, Alan would never have a chance to get any of her blood, but… she really didn't want to that. Would she have to live in hiding for the rest of her life? What if she couldn't be with Woody or the others? Those thoughts plagued her mind until the door opened again. Alan poked in with a blank expression on his face.

"We'll be arriving at Planet Z shortly to refuel. After that it's a direct trip to The Black Star Base," he said dryly.

"You don't have to do this, you know. You can still change your mind," Bo said before he had the chance to turn away.

He stared her down, and then entered the room closing the door behind him.

"What in the universe makes you think I'd ever change my mind? I don't even have a choice." he said angrily, approaching Bo slowly.

"You act like it's your destiny to destroy everything, when you could get out of this right now. I could help you start over and forget. I know you can do it…" she said timidly backing away from him.

He lashed out and slapped her on the face. She dropped to the ground weakly.

"If you think that I won't kill you just because you're my little sister, you're horribly mistaken. It would be easy to preserve mother's blood and dispose of you," he said with bloodthirsty eyes.

"Then why don't you, Alan? Just like mother. I'll probably have the same stunned face that she did. It haunts you, doesn't it? You told me that the weapon that freezes time was cowardly, but in reality, destroying everything is the real act of a coward. You can't face what you've done, and now everyone and everything else in the universe is paying for your mistakes. Tell me Alan, do your henchmen know what you intend to do?" Bo cried out bitterly.

He said nothing.

"Please, you have to listen to me! I can't ever forgive you for what you've done to Mother and Peter and Jeremiah, but I can help you escape this hellish hole you've dug yourself into," she tried again.

"We arrive in thirty minutes," he said without emotion, and then he stepped out of the room.

Bo knew now she had to escape. There was no hope for Alan, at least not as far as she could see. It would be easy to slip away at Zurg's fortress. She'd done it before. The only problem was there were so many people to hunt her down. She'd get caught, if not immediately.

She could try to escape the aircraft she was travelling in now… Most of the time ships kept escape pods handy for an emergency. However, activating them was going to be hard.

Her room was still unlocked and unguarded.

She didn't know if Alan thought she was stupid, or if he legitimately trusted her. She took a deep breath, peeked down the hallway, and took a step outside of her room. It looked clear.

Bo started to sprint.

Stealthily she made her way, ducking behind doorways and walls, seeing the occasional hornet pass by. She searched frantically for escape pods of any kind.

This was not good.

Her optimism for escaping at all was slowly diminishing. She tried not to think what was going on with her friends on Earth. She had literally left them with a dangerous lunatic. With Woody being in the rough state he was in…

Suddenly a window came into view. They were approaching planet Z, fast. There wasn't any time. She'd have to escape at the station. If she could slip off while the rest of the passengers were looking for her, she'd at least be out of Alan's hair. She tried her luck with a few of the doors around her and hid in a dark room.

But Bo soon realized she should have checked the room more thoroughly, because Hornets pounced on her before she could do anything. The light flicked on, allowing her to see her strange surroundings, at least as much as she could see with her face pressed to the ground.

There were pipes and strange vents on the walls like all the other rooms and hallways, but also several odd electrical devices that protruded out. Another Hornet was lifeless and connected to one of the devices.

Alan walked into the room casually, holding another suit similar to his.

"I'm not stupid Bo. I hope you know that. We've been tracking you on this ship the entire time," he said, dropping the suit.

"What is this room?" she asked as the hornets slowly let her go.

"It's where Hornets go to get reprogrammed. You might notice that Zurg's fortress will look… slightly different. He was getting pretty annoying, letting you and Star Command slip through his fingers like that. I had to take some action, and I've found that when used right these Robots are actually quite useful. Their loyalties had to be rearranged a little bit, but that's no trouble."

"What about Zurg? What did you do to him?" she asked, brushing herself off.

"Well, to be honest, I haven't done much with him. I was thinking about planning something special for him, but I need this plan to go off without a hitch. He's locked away for the moment, along with anyone else who'd get in my way at the moment," he said casually. "Now we're approaching planet Z and I'd appreciate it if you put on this suit so your eyeballs don't get sucked out of your sockets. You don't have to, I can get your blood either way, but I have a feeling you'll be far less whiney if you have your sight."

He and the other Hornets left the room.

She reluctantly pulled on the space suit. It fit her well, at least. Bo was trying not to panic. The electrical buzz behind her wasn't helping the atmosphere either.

She was going to be the cause of the destruction of everything; a small shepherdess from a tiny town was going to cause the end of the universe. There had to be a way to stop this. There just had to be! But things started to spiral out of control when she was grabbed roughly and forced out of the ship after it landed on planet Z. Alan was being honest when he said Zurg's place was different. The giant letter Z's on the wall were replaced with S's.

Bo was being held extremely tight. There was no chance of her escaping now.


	50. Aren't you ready?

_Author's Notes: Three chapters? What witchcraft is this?_

* * *

_As much as Bo was overjoyed that she was finally getting married, she couldn't help the nagging feeling in her stomach as to how Jessie would react when they told her. Woody tried to reassure her by telling her that Jessie had been pressing him for weeks to propose. When he told his sister that he was going to propose the following night, she couldn't wait._

_But now that Buzz was gone, it was different._

_Bo wanted Jessie to be her bridesmaid, but now she was worried if the cowgirl would even show up._

_The couple wondered how the rest of the town would take the news as well. Would they be happy? Shocked? Angry?_

_And then there was the possibility that Woody could get Buzz back, if only for a short time, to convince him that the town needed him. It was a slim chance, but it was worth a shot._

_Woody cleared his throat. He was going to talk to Jessie alone. They decided it would be for the best, especially since Bo still suspected that Jessie was upset with her. He opened the door softly, and walked in cautiously._

_The cowgirl was found on the floor looking through her cedar chest at old memories she'd saved throughout the years._

"_What are you doing inside on a beautiful day like this?" Woody asked calmly._

"_Preventing my heart from getting ripped out again," she replied dryly._

_Woody winced and sighed. "I'm really sorry Jess. I know that you're upset-"_

"_Oh you know? You think you know how I feel Woody?" she cut him off. "Do you know how it feels to have the whole world preventing you from loving? Because it's not just Buzz, you know. It seems like the universe doesn't want me associate with anyone because I just bring disaster wherever I go. Jonathan killed himself and I couldn't do anything about it! Emily died and I couldn't do anything about that either! I've just been trouble, ever since I came to this town. I'm pretty sure you've never had any of those emotions before."_

"_Ok… so I don't know how it feels, but I do know one thing. You are one of the strongest, bravest, and most beautiful women I know."_

"_Of course you'd say that. You're my brother."_

"_It's not just that Jess. You have to believe me."_

"_Why should I? Bo has said it herself. She's known you longer than I have," Jessie spat. "She's known Buzz longer too."_

"_That doesn't matter. From the moment that we met, I knew we were related, even though we didn't know it yet. I **know** you felt that way too," Woody replied. "You deserve happiness, and if Buzz isn't the right one, then I'm sure there is someone out there just for you."_

_There was a silence in the room for awhile._

"_Y'know, you never forget people, like Buzz or Jonathan… But when it really matters, they forget you."_

"_Jessie, I'm sorry…"_

_There was another silence between the two, until the cowgirl sighed. "So, you and Bo are engaged now?"_

"_How did you know?" Woody asked sitting down on the bed._

_Jessie resumed fumbling through old letters and memories. "I overheard. I was going to get something to eat and…"_

"_So… are you ok?"_

"_To be honest, I wasn't at first. I was angry that you two were happy," she said bitterly._

"_That's not very fair…" Woody said tentatively._

"_No, you're right. It wasn't fair for me to be upset with your happiness, but I felt like you were rubbing into my face. I know you weren't, but that's exactly what it felt like." Jessie sighed again. "But now… well... You finally got the guts to ask her, huh?"_

"_Yeah… I got impatient with myself. And I, well, I thought maybe if Buzz-"_

"_Save it. If you can get him back, I don't care. I'm never talking to that man, ever again."_

* * *

_As the two predicted, the town wasn't exactly happy about the news of Woody and Bo's wedding. There was a huge argument down at the new saloon the following evening. Mr. Potatohead especially butt heads with the sheriff, claiming something about being jealous of the space ranger. Bo didn't see how that was relevant, but the argument went on for a good half hour until faithful old Slinky stepped up and told the town that happy news was a good change. If they lingered on the sad things, nothing would get better._

_When Bo and Woody finally left to take a walk, Woody was still pretty mad._

"_I can't believe them. I thought they'd be happy," he said walking briskly._

"_You knew this would happen. Maybe they're right. Maybe we should wait," Bo tried reasoning._

_Woody stopped abruptly._

"_You mean… you mean you want to back out?"_

"_I love you very much, but right now I don't think people are ready for us to get married."_

"_But, aren't you ready?"_

_Bo sighed and nodded._

"_I've been ready for a long time. But… people haven't accepted yet that Buzz is gone," Bo said, looking into his brown chocolate eyes. She placed a hand on his cheek._

"_Alright, if you think that's for the best…"_

* * *

_The next day at the saloon, people were dead quiet when Woody walked through the doors again._

"_I hope you're all happy now. Bo and I decided to hold off the wedding," he said coldly. Nobody made a sound. He sighed. "I'm sorry. I really am. Buzz was my best friend. If there was any way I could get him back, I'd do it in a heartbeat. He won't even respond to my messages… I guess I just figured that everyone would naturally be ok with it. I was selfish… I'm sorry."_

"_But… we want you, to get married…" Rex said softly._

"_What?"_

_Hamm bowed his head. "We were all thinking, that Slink was right yesterday. We need some happy news in this town."_

_Mrs. Potatohead elbowed her husband._

"_Er…" Mr. Potatohead started. "They're right Woody. They were being jerks yesterday. We really do want to see you and Bo happy." That was as much of an apology ever uttered out of Mr Potatohead's lips._

"_I don't, understand…" Woody said._

"_Oh for goodness sake, marry the girl before she gets away, why don't ya?" Estelle Potatohead shouted. The group cheered, and Woody was grinning from ear to ear._

_He didn't waste a moment._

_The cowboy sprinted out of the saloon, through the road and up to the small patio where his beautiful bride to be sat with a somber look on her face. She was confused as he picked her up and spun her around. When Woody told her the good news, she just laughed and laughed. The two danced around until they fell down. They giggled and held each other close._

_It seemed like nothing could tear the two apart. _


	51. The war had begun

Author's Notes: Hi ho! Happy Fourth of July! Next chapter yo!

* * *

After be transferred to a dozen different Hornets throughout the station, Bo was feeling really depressed. She just wanted to leave with Alan and get it all over with. She was finally pushed into the arms of an alien whose hands were light blue. It wore a horrific mask resembling a bug she had once seen on Earth. It dismissed the Hornet.

The alien took her arm and promptly pointed a gun at her head. Bo sighed.

"Is that really necessary? I'm kind of upset right now, and I don't think I'm going anywhere anytime soon," she said the not so fierce cowgirl as she shuffled along letting tears drift down her face.

"We've been waiting for you," the alien said. Bo could tell the voice was slightly feminine, but something on her mask distorted the voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure… There's no point in fighting anymore," Bo replied, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt dejected. She didn't know how long it would take to refuel the ship, but she was guessing it wouldn't take very long. Her friends couldn't possibly get to her now, especially since she left them in the care of a murderous lunatic. The worst feeling, however, was the sickly lump in her stomach telling her she'd never see her cowboy ever again. If Woody wasn't already dead, Bo herself would be the cause of his death and every single other living being in the universe. "You might as well let me walk myself."

"That's not the woman I met a few days ago."

Bo furrowed her eyebrows. "What? What do you mean by-"

The alien tipped up her helmet slightly. Mira Nova smiled brightly at Bo, and then quickly put the mask back on.

"But… how? Buzz and Jessie, they said with your injuries you'd be out for a month!" Bo exclaimed.

"Shh, not so loud. The technology in the teleport works well with my biological pattern. See, my planet adapted the machinery. The people on my planet can scatter their atoms enough to allow them to pass through walls and solid objects. When I remembered that, I took a chance and I woke up at Star Command a little shaken, but perfectly fine," she said happily as she continued to lead Bo along. Seeing her confused look she continued. "It's complicated. Let's just say you can't get rid of me that easily blondie."

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm busting you out! Stoneheart needs something with **you** specifically, and whatever that is, we're not going to let that happen."

"There are more of you here?" Bo asked, feeling the sickly lump in her stomach loosen.

"Just a few, but outside is a whole armada of Rangers. Stoneheart has been so preoccupied with something that he's not as cracked down on security like Zurg was. Stoneheart might have adjusted the hornets to be 100% programmed to him, but most of Zurg's other minions are still loyal to him because they have to. A chip is inserted into their suits that the Emperor has control of on his suit. He can execute any number of them in seconds. He might be locked up, but he still has control of his own troops. A spy from Star Command let us know that there have been several unexplained deaths among Zurg's minions who changed their loyalties. We don't know exactly how Zurg can tell who has gone completely traitorous on him while being contained, but however he's doing it, it's helping us a heck of a lot more. When we invade, we'll only have the hornets to deal with," Mira said quickly, pulling Bo into a room with several complicated looking panels.

"What about Buzz? Are my friends safe? I have to go back for them!" Bo said, eyes darting around the room.

"Calm down, they're fine. I went back for them first. We tried to convince them to get a medic for their injuries, but they refused. Lotso wasn't exactly…" she stopped when she saw Bo's wince. "They're waiting in the armada right now, preparing for this war."

"Was there… was there a sheriff there? A tall lanky cowboy with brown eyes?"

Mira paused for a second. "Woody Pride. Yes, he was there. Buzz and the other girl took care of him. He's alright, I promise. He made me swear on my life that I would take you back to Earth in hiding until Stoneheart was dead." The Alien princess swallowed hard. "He was so emotional Bo. I can tell he cares about you so much. If I was Stoneheart, I'd be afraid."

Bo exhaled slowly. She tried to imagine his face again, his smile, his eyes. She shook her head trying not to cry again. "You don't understand Mira. I can't leave. I have to see him again. Knowing him, he'll get himself killed. I haven't seen him for years."

"I swore on my life! I have to do this, I'm sorry." Mira tapped on one of the panels, opening a doorway into a small cabin. It was an escape pod.

"You can't. You just can't! I've waited so long, and I can't wait any longer," Bo said.

Mira sighed. "I really am sorry for this, but you can't fight me. You've got to come with me."

She made a grab for Bo's arm, but without thinking Bo shoved Mira into the pod and the doors closed immediately behind her.

Mira mouthed "You've got to be kidding me," right before Bo pressed a red button on the control panel that said LAUNCH above it.

Bo felt bad. She really did. This was the second time Mira had been sent away against her will, but there was no way in the galaxy that would prevent Bo from saving Woody. She caught her breath, and suddenly realized how selfish her decision was. If Alan found her, the whole Universe would be doomed. She bit her lip, hard. There were other escape pods. It wouldn't be that difficult to operate; she saw Mira use it.

All the sudden, the alarm went off.

"BREACH! BREACH! BREACH!" The monotonous voice said continuously.

Star Command had broken through, and the war had begun.


	52. A static noise

_Author's Notes: Next chapter. I've got like five I'm almost finished with so they'll be up soon! :D If anyone is still reading this... I appreciate it a lot..._

* * *

"_I've decided I'm going to stay at the saloon for awhile, to make sure people don't have the wrong idea about us staying in the same house," Bo announced one evening at dinner at the Pride's home. "I've already talked with Mrs. Davis about it."_

"_You sure?" Jessie asked, her mouth stuffed with potato._

"_Yeah… Mr. Potatohead has been getting pretty mouthy lately and I don't want him spreading anything around," Bo sighed. _

"_That's fine. When are you leaving?" Woody asked._

"_Tomorrow night. By the way, I have to ask. Where are we going on our honeymoon?"_

_Jessie groaned. "Do you have to talk about this stuff at the dinner table?"_

_Woody glared at her, and then he smiled a mischievous grin. "It's a surprise."_

"_Oh come on. Can't I know what kind of weather we're going to be in?" Bo said with a giggle._

_Her cowboy shook his head._

"_Fine, I'm not telling you where I hid your hat," she said defiantly._

_Woody turned his head to find the hook where he hung his hat bare. His eyebrows furrowed. "You stole my hat?"_

_Bo shared a look with Jessie, and smiled cheekily. "How far?"_

_Woody tipped up his chin, pouted, and then said, "Pretty far. It's somewhere you'll like, I promise."_

* * *

_There was about a month before the wedding. Mrs. Bills was modifying an old dress of hers to serve as the wedding dress. She tried to make it look like as much as Bo's mother's dress, since the actual dress was lost in the fire._

_There wasn't going to be a proper preacher in town either during the wedding, so they were still trying to get that detail ironed out. Hamm insisted he was fit for the job, but it seemed kind of strange since Hamm relied more on his knowledge of things than stuff he learned in church._

_All the while, Bo had forgotten all about her brother's threat to return._

_One day she walked through the door of the Pride home and saw Woody sitting at the table, hands on his temples and a very stressed look on his face._

"_You alright sweetie?" she said leaning against the table next to him._

"_I tried to contact Buzz again this morning… I finally got through to his commanding officer. He's been missing for weeks," he said sadly._

_Bo came up behind him and gave him a hug._

"_He'll show up. I'm sure of it," she said knowing full well there was little chance he would be there. It pained her to see Woody like this, especially since he was the one who always tried to calm everyone else down, and assure them that things would turn out for the better. But when he doubted himself, she had to step in and be the voice of reason._

"_I hope you're right," he said, sighing and giving into her. He spun around and kissed her softly._

"_Wherever in the stars he is, I'm sure he can't get this crazy little town out of his mind," Bo said putting her cold hand on his cheek._

_Woody smiled slightly, but it dropped back into a frown. "I'm going to leave him one more message. If he doesn't respond, I guess I just have to give up," he said fiddling with a mechanical device._

"_Do you want some privacy?" Bo asked._

"_No, it's fine. I'll only be a moment." He cleared his throat, pushed something on the device that made a beep. "Base 202 Earth to Buzz Lightyear… Do you read me Buzz Lightyear?"_

_A static noise followed._

"_Buzz, I know you can hear me. We're all worried about you. I heard you didn't turn up at the station to get deported…"_

_Still the hollow static followed._

"_Fine. Don't tell me what happened. I know you're there and you are just going to try to block me out, but at least listen to what I have to say."_

_Bo expected some nagging statement to follow. She couldn't deny that her fiancé was a bit of a nag, but she thought that was cute. However, what followed was one of the most genuinely most heartfelt things she had ever heard._

"_I can't do this alone. I mean, yeah sure I can handle the marriage part, that's not what I meant. Before you crashed into town I was the leader of the town. I was big headed, stubborn, and very particular, and heck, I still am. And then you came and changed everything and reminded me that I'm not all that, but in return I thought I taught you that it doesn't matter how important you are, as long as you matter to someone…I figured you knew that, since when I had the opportunity to stay with Jess, you chewed me out on that. But now, I just, I want to remind you what that truly means. You can fulfill that desire to help and serve people here, where people really need you. Besides, if you let me run the whole shebang again, I'll probably become just as selfish as I was before you met me…" The sheriff paused and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked at Bo for a moment, and then took a breath. "Even though you broke my sister's heart, you're still my best friend, and I would love nothing more than to experience my wedding day with you as my best man. Please…"_

_But the eerie static only continued its horrible buzz._

_The days rolled by quickly, making things extremely difficult. Bo's dress was nearly done, Hamm was to be officiating, and other things were coming together. But Buzz had yet to appear, and as far as anyone at Star Command had known, he disappeared completely. _

_Bo secretly hoped that if he did come back, Jessie wouldn't kill him, and that was only **if** he showed up. Woody was trying his hardest not to show how disappointed he was, but Bo could see right through him._

_And if that wasn't stressing him out enough, he and Potatohead were in an ongoing argument. He'd often throw up is arms in frustration when something wasn't working the way he wanted it to._

_And Bo only did the best she could to help him get through._


	53. It was her friends

Author's Notes: Hoo baby, this is getting flippin' intense…

* * *

Running through endless hallways, that's all Bo's life seemed to be.

The alarm was nerve racking, but she knew Zurg's base well enough now that she could navigate her way where she guessed Star Command would have broken through. There was a large port where she landed earlier. It wasn't very heavily secured.

However, to her dismay she found that the fighting had already begun. It seemed too familiar, being on the wrong side of the battlefield. She remembered the promise Woody had made many years ago that he would not fight anymore. Bo wondered if he even remembered the promise.

She found the Hornets using the snakelike hallways to their advantage. It seemed every path that would get her to the port was filled with lasers and bloodshed. There was only one way to get to where she needed to be, and that was through the Hornets.

There was an upstairs balcony that overlooked the port. If she could survive the jump, that was probably her best bet. She remembered the familiarity of that too. Once she did jump from a balcony on a Star Command ship, and that didn't work too well.

Nobody was even upstairs. The battle was on the main floor, which made things relatively easy for Bo. Her guess was correct. Star Command had entered through the port, and waves of rangers poured through the facility. She tried desperately looking for Woody in the midst of the crowd, but it was almost impossible.

Something caught her eye above her. An electrical wire had been cut that looked like it was attached to the doors opening into space. It was a ways ahead of her, but she thought she could make it.

Bo took a deep breath, and then jumped.

She flung her hands out in front of her, trying to grasp the small wire. She shut her eyes for a moment, fearing that she had missed it, but the cord met her hand smoothly. Her weight broke the plastic pieces keeping the wire attached to the ceiling, letting her descend. It was bumpy, but it was working.

Until the hornets noticed her.

Avoiding lasers in the air was extremely difficult. She was almost all the way down when her hand burned horribly. She lost her grip and fell, landing hardly on the cold floor. Her hand was in bad condition, but she shoved it into her shirt and stood up quickly. The Star Command Rangers around her couldn't pay much mind since they were close to driving the Hornets back.

One ranger did step out of line and helped her back out of direct line of attack. He looked like a normal human being, and had similar composure to Buzz.

"You need to get out of here, miss! Were you a prisoner?" he asked quickly, moving her fast back to one of the star command ships that had forced its way into the port.

"Yes! I need to know if you've seen either Buzz Lightyear or a Cowboy!" Bo shouted above the utter chaos.

"Captain Lightyear was chasing Stoneheart with another guy. That might've been him. They were heading towards that way." He jerked out his thumb towards a desolate pathway. Apparently everyone else was paying attention to the main battle.

Bo nodded a thank you, and then ducked into the ship for shelter for a moment. There medics already had their hands full of the wounded. In the corner was a small family. They all looked forlorn and starved. Something about them struck Bo's eye. She couldn't put her finger on it…

One of the medics noticed her hand. He pushed her over to a table making her sit down.

"I can't stay! I have to find my friends!" she resisted.

"I need to do my job. If we don't get that taken care of, you might never be able to use your hand ever again," he replied calmly. He took her hand out of the folds of her shirt carefully. She winced. It hurt a lot.

The medic paused. He eyed Bo and then called to the woman in the small family in the corner.

"Mrs. Davis, could you please watch over this one while I get some ointment?"

The woman nodded and told her son something. The boy held his sister's hand. He had a worried expression on his face.

Bo sighed. At this rate she'd never get to her friends.

The woman walked up to Bo. She had a slightly wrinkly face and aging blonde hair, but she looked kind enough. She looked so familiar…

"Mrs. Davis! Of course!" Bo exclaimed. She'd been so blind! She'd already forgotten about Andy, Molly and their mother once again.

"Bo? Is that you?" the woman asked not quite as enthusiastically. She looked so thin that if she so much as yelled she'd be out of breath.

Bo nodded eagerly. She hugged Mrs. Davis promptly.

"I had heard you were the one responsible for all of this. I didn't believe it," the mother said. "I expect the fighting to end soon now that we've found you!"

"I escaped on my own, save the help of one of the rangers… And she's probably a ways away now," Bo said regretfully.

"Then you've got to tell people who you are! This will be all over soon."

"It's not that simple. I have to make things right. You haven't seen Woody lately have you?"

Mrs. Davis took a deep breath. "He's chasing after Stoneheart. Buzz and the rest of the gang followed after him. I tried to convince at least Jessie or Mrs. Potatohead to stay here, but they wouldn't have any of that."

"Why are you here, by the way? It's so good to see you again, but under the circumstances I wish you weren't here in such a dangerous time," Bo said taking Mrs. Davis' hand.

"After the events at the wedding we were in imprisonment here, for a long time. Andy used his boyish charm to make friends with one of the guards. He claimed that Stoneheart was up to something worse than everybody thought. The guard was still loyal to Zurg. One day he snuck us out, but he was murdered right before he made it to the escape pod with us. We landed in the desert, and we wandered for a long time until we found a town brought up by a family called the Andersons."

"I know that town! I've been there!" Bo exclaimed.

"Yes, they talked about you when they were transported up. Anyway, Woody had been looking for us as soon as he had heard we escaped. We had just departed the town when Woody arrived and then it was attacked. We headed to the last port town. It had been evacuated since Stoneheart's empire knew it was the only port town to Star Command that hadn't been destroyed yet. I made contact with Star Command, and we made it up shortly after you had left. They need medics on hand here. I had to come with them, and there is no one that can watch my children. Literally everyone is in on the battle," Mrs. Davis said wearily.

"So Woody was looking for you. That's why he was there at the Anderson town… why didn't he talk to us while we were there? He must have recognized Jessie and me," Bo said.

"I don't know anything about that, but I'm afraid if Buzz and the others don't get to him on time, he'll strangle Stoneheart to death."

* * *

She recognized the hallway. It was hot and humid, with bits of steam popping out of the walls as dull colored pipes lined the pathway. It was the way to the incinerator.

Bo didn't like how they were heading there of all places. It made her nervous for some reason. She had picked up a blaster from a fallen hornet earlier, but it wasn't like she needed it too much since there was no one in the eerie hallway. Her hand still hurt, but the doctor had put on a special cream and bandage so it started to feel a little better.

Finally she recognized the two doors overseeing the incinerator. Bo couldn't imagine another room worth going to in this section of the station. It would be the perfect place to… murder someone…

One of the doors led to the room she had been in with Jessie right after she had her panic attack. The other one had stairs leading down past all the monitors. She looked around for her friends everywhere out in the hallway, not wanting to go into either of the rooms, but it was dead silent save the gusts of steam coming out of the walls.

She couldn't get that image out of her head, the one of people down in the incinerator waiting for their destruction. Bo had recognized one to be Jessie in that vision, and that frightened her more than anything else.

Finally she placed her hand on the first door leading to the monitor room. The screens were all turned off, but she could hear voices coming from the stairs. She cautiously made her way down the iron steps as the sound got a little louder.

There was a main viewing deck she supposed workers observed on. It had another level with the same grated floor that looked like it wrapped up and around the incinerator. It led into a dimly lit room with a few control panels on it. In the middle of the main floor was a large glass chute that looked like it piled up trash until full, and then it released into a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt was in a deep crevice that fed right into the fiery pit.

As Bo made her way closer to the main floor, she could gradually see a figure standing on the viewing deck, and a few more inside the glass chute.

It was her friends.


	54. You are beautiful

_Author's Notes: Hey a long chapter! Joy! Hope you guys like this one. And thanks always to Madier1095. Even if you're the only one left reading this, I appreciate your reviews like crazy! :D_

* * *

_It was a week before the big day._

_The anxiety of the approaching day was getting to Bo's head. She tried to be calm and reasonable as she knew she should be, but it was difficult when she had to make all sorts of decisions. She sat down at the counter in the saloon and caught her breath and imagined herself walking down the isle…_

_It was late in the day. Everyone had gone home save the Davis' because the saloon was their home. Mrs. Davis was rocking little Molly asleep, and Andy had already gone to bed. It was almost completely silent._

_And then there was a beep._

_That otherworldly beep she'd heard on various contraptions that she didn't understand. It continued to beep, whatever it was, but it was extremely faint. She slipped delicately from her seat and listened for the noise. It led her to one of the back rooms and recognized it immediately to be coming from the secret underground Star Command base._

_Even though the old saloon had burned to the ground, the base remained safe and unfound. Bo had seen others use a new secret passage to get down there. She moved a painting on the wall that revealed a button, and a staircase was created going down in the floor._

_The beeping stopped as she was halfway down. Instead she heard Woody's voice echoing through the hallway. She couldn't quite make out what he was saying… Bo was surprised he was even down there. She thought he was working late tonight._

"_Hello? You down here sweetheart?" she called meekly._

"_**I want to remind you what that truly means. You can fulfill that desire to help and serve people here, where people really need you. Besides, if you let me run the whole shebang again, I'll probably become just as selfish as I was before you met me…"**_

"_What?" Bo tried again, confused. "Is there someone else down there with you?"_

"_**Even though you broke my sister's heart, you're still my best friend, and I would love nothing more than to experience my wedding day with you as my best man. Please…"**_

_It was Woody's message._

_By the time Bo reached the bottom stair, it was easy to spot where the sound was coming from in the nearly empty station._

_Buzz Lightyear sat on the ground, still wearing his Star Command uniform, but his hood to cover his head was down, revealing his dusty brown hair. He hadn't been shaving in the time he spent alone apparently, because he had a short stubby beard. He fiddled with a gadget on his wrist, and it beeped one more time. He closed the little compartment on his wrist, and sighed._

"_Buzz!" was all Bo could say. She felt frozen to the spot._

"_Hi Bo…" he said quietly._

"_I… I don't even know what to say to you… what, and where, and why, I guess?" Bo said fumbling over her words._

"_I'm a coward. I ran away. For the first time in his life, Buzz Lightyear ran away from a mission. And it's not just that, I ran away from all of my problems here too. I was being such an idiot. Now I'm afraid Woody is the only one who still believes in me."_

_Bo tried not be angry, but she couldn't help being upset remembering all the stress he had caused for everyone._

"_Well, you have some nerve showing up here, a week before my wedding no less," she huffed, regretting what she had said immediately after._

_Buzz still hadn't taken his eyes from the floor._

"_You have every right to be upset with me. I don't even know what I'm doing here. I don't think I belong anywhere," he said with a hurt look on his face._

"_Oh… shut up and give me hug!" Bo cried. She ran towards him with outstretched arms. He finally tore his eyes away from the ground and looked surprised when she attacked him with an embrace on the floor. "Don't you ever leave us again! I'll slap you silly!"_

_He stood up shakily when she released him. The ranger let out a wimpy smile, but he looked genuinely better already._

"_What do I do, Bo? I'm a wreck. How on Earth do I tell everyone that I have the nerve to come back here and I hope to be accepted again?" he asked._

"_Don't worry about that. I'm sure they will all be overjoyed to see you again. I'm just glad you finally got it through your noggin that we're family, and you're stuck with us," she said happily as she slipped her arm through his and led him out of the station._

* * *

_Despite the lateness in the day, Bo insisted Buzz meet up with Woody immediately. He was incredibly nervous, not necessarily about the cowboy, but his sister. He still had no idea how she felt about him, and he figured she forgot about him completely. The space ranger had no clue what fury the redhead had…_

_Woody opened the door, which was extremely lucky. Jessie probably would have slammed the door in his face. Of course, even Bo didn't know how the sheriff would react. He tended to blow things out of proportion sometimes._

_Woody didn't even look surprised._

_He grinned and held out his hand. Buzz looked at it like it was a foreign object, and then realized what to do with his own. After they shook hands, Bo let out a sigh. One Pride down, one to go._

"_Welcome back buddy, knew you couldn't stay away for too long," Woody said happily._

"_Who's at the door?" called Jessie from inside the house. Woody grimaced. This wasn't going to be pretty…_

_The cowgirl walked casually up behind her brother and slowly scanned Buzz's slightly unrecognizable, dirty face. Her eyes narrowed._

"_Oh, it's you. Back so soon?" Her simple words were like a punch in the face._

"_I-I… I didn't think you'd uh, notice I was gone…" Buzz said clueless._

"_You think I'm stupid?"_

_Bo and Woody winced at each other. As much as they didn't want to leave poor Buzz alone, Bo crept into the house and the two of them left the room._

"_No… n-no, not at all. It's just, ah-"_

"_You just thought I was stupid. It's ok Buzz, I got that part. What I don't understand is why you're back here after the damage you've done?" Jessie asked crossing her arms, her words like daggers._

"_I don't think you're stupid Jess, I j-just…"_

"_Y'know, I don't understand. I thought for once in my life that even if I was the roughest toughest cowgirl in the West, that someone might have thought I was beautiful-"_

"_You are beautiful."_

"_-and I bought your sappy looks and tripping over words. You had me fooled Buzz Lightyear-"_

"_Jessie, please!"_

"_-but I ain't gonna buy it again! So you might as well get your sorry caboose out of here before I personally make you myself!" She slammed the door in his face._

_Woody slowly emerged from the other room. Bo decided that it was going to have to be a discussion between the siblings and she really didn't have much part of it._

"_Well that went well…" Woody said quietly. Jessie still stood in the same spot._

"_Excuse me? I'm sorry, would you have liked us to kiss and make up?" Jessie replied flatly._

"_Knock it off Jess, you know he went because he had to. That's his job."_

"_Fine! Why is he back here then? What more could he possibly do here? It's a boring stupid old town. How can this musty town compare to his fancy, dangerous, thrilling job up in the stars?"_

_Woody paused. "You know the answer to that question."_

"_I hate him! I never want to see him again! He didn't even tell me he was going to leave!" Jessie cried, trying to change subject._

"_So he was a little bit dumb, but all men are a little stupid when they're in love."_

"_Then… But, why…" Jessie stopped dumbfounded. She tugged on her braid and looked at the door._

_She reached her fingers out painfully and opened the door, only to find that no one was standing there. The cowgirl lost it. She tried to wipe away tears as she pulled on her boots quickly._

"_Jess, what are you doing?" Woody asked taking a timid step towards her. "Are you ok?"_

"_I've got to find him Woody. He can't have gone far…"_

"_But-"_

"_I can't let him disappear again! Do you think he'll come back after all of those horrible things I said? I have to find him!" She bolted out the door calling out for the space ranger. It had just started to rain._

_Bo walked out with a concerned look on her face. Woody was already pulling on his jacket._

"_What happened? Where did she go?" Bo asked helping him wrap up._

"_She's gone out to find him. She'll never stop looking if she can't find him. I've got to go after her," Woody replied. "I'll be right back, I promise." He kissed her lightly and then went out into the horribly rainy night._

* * *

_Jessie ran through the blotchy raindrops that hit her face. She wished that she had brought her hat with her. It was getting unbelievably muddy and she slipped once or twice, but that didn't deter her from finding him._

"_Buzz! Please!" she shouted through the heavy rain. Thunder started to rage above her. It was almost impossible to see anything in the storm._

_But there was a dim glow. It was Buzz's suit! It was moving away from her quickly._

"_No! Wait!"_

_She sprinted after him. Jessie barely recognized the scenery. They were near the edge of a cliff base. Buzz maneuvered his way through it easily, trying to disappear through the mountains._

_She navigated her way around the steep cliff, the mud making her nervous. And then something, or someone, yanked on her hair behind her._

_She lost her balance. _

_Jessie was falling out of control. The wind was whipping through her hair wildly and out of control, and rain only encouraged her destruction. She glanced up back to where she stood and saw a dark figure blend with the shadows, followed shortly by her brother shouting something she couldn't understand._

_This was it, she was going to die._

_She could only close her eyes waiting for impact._

_**What a stupid way to die. In the dark, in some stupid canyon.**_

_The thought about the dark worried her. What if she didn't die right away? She'd be down there in the horrible suffocating shadows. The image came to her like a dark dragon from a fairy tale._

_And then she hit the ground. But, it was a lot softer than she had imagined it to be. She felt a bruise on her tailbone, which was painful, but she thought it would have been a lot worse. Maybe she couldn't feel anything anymore? Like she had broken something that let her feel pain…?_

_Jessie finally opened her eyes and saw the most brilliant cerulean eyes staring back at her. They were flying back up to the top of the cliff, impossibly. And Buzz had just saved her life… He smiled at her. She didn't know what face she was pulling, but she realized she was shaking horribly._

_After landing on safer ground, her brother seemed to come out of nowhere and tackled her into a hug._

"_Don't you ever do that again. What if Buzz wouldn't have been able to catch you?" Woody said softly. He was crying._

_She had no reply as the world was spinning. When he finally let her go, she turned back to Buzz, and tugged on her braid nervously._

"_Buzz… I'm so sorry. I shouldn't, I shouldn't have said, I just-"_

_He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm the one who should be sorry."_

"_No you shouldn't, it's just…" Jessie glanced back at Woody. "**People** do stupid things when they're in love." She didn't hold back one bit._

_Jessie the cowgirl kissed the sweetest spaceman she had ever met._

* * *

Heavens, this is a loaded chapter isn't it? I didn't really prioritize the 'past' chapters with the 'future' chapters, so that's why this is all crunched into here.


	55. You always have a choice

Author's Notes: I'm almost done! Oy this is crazy stuff here!

* * *

Bo was sweating.

The hot air was making it harder to concentrate. She was so afraid that she almost lost her footing going down the rest of the stairs. Alan was the one on the deck. He looked at her smugly, beckoning for her to come further.

Her friends, on the other hand, looked like they were screaming to run, but she couldn't stop now. She was almost there.

He was in there with them.

The Potatoheads, Rex, Hamm, Slinky, Jessie, Buzz, and Woody. They all stood there with frightened expressions, anticipating the floor below them to fall and for them to be moved down the conveyor belt into the depths of the incinerator.

Woody looked at her with his big brown eyes swimming with worry. When she finally made it down, she couldn't look away from his eyes. She took a step towards the chute until Alan made an "ah" sound.

She finally tore her eyes away to look at her brother.

"Please, Alan. Just let me see him," she asked in a daze.

"Fine, I suppose it has been a long time. He can hear you through that class, but no sound comes out of that thing," he said blankly leaning back on a wall.

Bo ran to the chute and placed her hands on the glass where Woody's were.

"You can hear me, right?" she asked.

He nodded. She could feel herself getting teary eyed.

"I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!" she said putting her forehead on the cool surface of the glass chute. "If I hadn't been so stupid… if I was quicker, I… I caused all of this to happen! And now… I don't even deserve you."

Woody tapped the glass and shook his head. He smiled weakly.

"What do I do now? I'm not brave, I'm so weak. I wish you could tell me what I need to do." She squeezed her eyes shut trying not to show the pain in her eyes.

Her cowboy fought to keep his open.

"Run," he mouthed.

"I can't leave you here. He'll kill you. I… I just…I have to stop this."

Woody shook his head. "No you don't."

"I started this. I have to end it." Bo glanced at all of her other friends. They looked so fragile and weak, which was ironic because hadn't Bo always been the porcelain one? She'd been so blind to realize that being the hero came with horrible costs and decisions. Being porcelain didn't mean that she was incapable to do anything, but that you had a very different role. You support those heroes, and help them along so that they don't end up like she did, alone and bloodthirsty. Dead, almost. Bo would have never guessed through her empty heart that there was still love moving her onwards, and she had never felt it so strongly.

She turned around to face that black-hearted man she called her brother.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked softly.

"It is my destiny. It always has been," Alan replied simply.

"By what order? You govern yourself Alan, you can make a decision to stop all of this. I genuinely believe that you never wanted all of this."

"I have no choice."

"You always have a choice. You always have, you always will have a choice. Everyone has a choice."

"I won't let my little sister nag me. You're just like mother, you know that? I was never good enough for her…"

"Did she say that, or did someone tell you that?"

Alan paused. "Have you ever looked at the stars? I had a strange fascination with them when I was little."

"What do stars have to do with anything?" Bo asked, taking small steps towards him. She stole a glance back at Woody for a moment.

Alan chuckled. "Silly little girl, they have everything to do with this. Do you remember when the carnival rolled into town? Probably not, you were far too little. Mother and Father never liked the carnival folks, but I snuck off and had one of the most memorable nights of my life. A fortune teller was there."

Bo planned just to keep him talking until she could find a way to get her friends out… She spotted a control panel near Alan. "A fortune teller?"

"I know what you're thinking… They're just old crones who know nothing about telling the future. Well I was thinking the same thing, I was just curious… This one was different though. When I asked to have my fortune told, her eyes glazed over, like she was possessed. It was like she spoke with a different voice."

She was edging around him, getting closer and closer…

"She told me that I was like no person she had ever met, that I was destined to do horrible things as preordained by the stars," he continued. "And then like a lightning strike, I met him… His name was Stoneheart Mafur, and he took me under his wing. He taught me things about the world that our dear old dad never even understood. But he was sick, and he needed someone to carry out his work. With no proper heir, I became the next Stoneheart."

"But, why? You… you murdered the people who loved you!" Bo exclaimed, forgetting her mission for a moment.

"I had no choice."

"Stop saying that! I don't know what garbage you've been brainwashed with, but you know that you can walk out on all of this right now!"

"Why do you think I'd change?"

"Because… once you were my brother. And although the rest of the world has given up on you, I still think you have the potential for goodness. If you could feel the love I've felt, I know you'd stop this."

Bo had almost reached the control panel.

Alan looked down at the floor for a moment. He studied his hands and then looked up at his sister again. His eyes were full of rage. He looked from the control panel back to Bo, and then exploded in anger. He lunged at her and in an instant she was forced to the ground. She could hear pounding on the glass behind her, as Alan followed continuing his deadly blows. He punched her again and again, holding her down to the grated floor.

She'd never been in so much pain.

This monster was her own brother, who for some reason or another had chosen this horrific life for himself.

She felt like she was going to shatter any second.

"STOP!" she screamed.

Alan finally grew weary and pulled away from her. Bo was crying so hard. She put her hands on her face and found blood on her fingers as she sat up. Alan was running his hands through his hair furiously. He pounded the wall angrily and avoided his sister's glance.

Bo teetered upward, the world spinning around her.

"I've never had a problem with killing anyone, except you," Alan said quietly, pacing back and forth. "Why can't I just do it? I can have your blood in a vial easy as soon as you're gone, so why is it so hard to do it?"

"Maybe because you don't want to," Bo replied, feeling incredibly weak. Her nose was bleeding uncontrollably, broken possibly, and she undoubtedly had a fresh black eye beginning to appear.

"I never wanted to kill anyone, I just knew that I had to, to progress my work."

"You don't have to now. I can help you, I promise. Please Alan, just release my friends."

Alan finally turned around and looked at Woody's deathly eyes. Obviously Bo was much more forgiving than the rest of them.

"I-I… AAAARRGHH! WHY IS THIS SO CONFUSING?!" Alan ran towards Bo again and slapped her. She crumbled to the ground. "YOU CAN'T FORGIVE ME FOR EVERYTHING!"

Bo looked up sadly. "I'll always love you, because I know that once, you were my brother."

Alan's eyes softened dramatically. He looked even on the verge of tears. "Could you even forgive me… for this?" He walked towards the control panel and placed his fingers on a big yellow button that said _CHUTE FLOOR_ above it.

It was the button to release her friends into the mercy of the incinerator.


	56. The day everything changed

_Author's Notes: This is the last 'five years ago' chapter! From now on, it's just the present. I really hafta say, thanks so much for your support! I appreciate every review! I read every single one pretty much grinning from ear to ear. I really hope you've enjoyed this story. I won't give the specific amount of chapters left, but it's under five… :) You guys are the best!_

* * *

_The day everything changed._

_It was a crisp and fresh September morning, the wedding day. Things were already running behind when the flowers hadn't arrived on time. Bo hadn't even seen Woody at all that day, but she knew he was probably as frazzled as ever. She managed to keep a calm composure for the most part._

_As far as she was concerned, the hardest part was getting Jessie to wear a dress. That had dramatically dropped as much of a concern, however, after the incident the week before and Buzz had arrived. Since then, the two had been practically inseparable. Buzz often tripped over his words, as usual, and Jess was the same old tomboy she had always been, but they both kind of put those traits aside for each other._

_Bo couldn't imagine it being much longer until there was another wedding._

_Through the business of the day, Bo did accidentally overhear the two talking outside._

"_So… What about Star Command?" said Jessie sadly._

"_What about it?" Buzz replied._

"_Are you ever going to leave again? I mean, if you do I'll understand this time, but at least say goodbye before you go…"_

"_I-"_

"_I know you don't want to disappoint me, but trust me, I'll be… fine. I just… Is it dangerous how you work? Please don't do anything stupid."_

"_Jess, I haven't even said I was going to leave!"_

"_And that's ok. I understand Buzz."_

"_Do you want me to leave?"_

"_N-no… but if you really want t-to, I'm fine."_

"_Please don't cry. Look at me. I promise I'll quit my job, as soon as possible."_

"_What? You love your job! Why would you do that?"_

"_Because, I've finally found someone really worth fighting for."_

_Bo sighed and pulled herself away from the conversation. Buzz was such a sappy romantic, but it was adorable all the same. She didn't want to pry._

* * *

_All that was left was to get ready._

_Bo had helped Jessie out a little, which the redhead felt a little guilty for._

"_For Pete's sakes! This is your wedding, not mine! Stop fussin' with me and worry about yourself!" Jessie cried, smacking Bo's hands away from her hair._

"_But your hair is so perfect! Mine is so thin. I can't get away with many hairstyles, but you have gorgeous hair! I can't help it!" Bo replied._

"_Your wedding is in an hour. Don'tcha think you should at least put on your dress? Come on, I'll help you get it on."_

_The two were in Bo's bedroom at the saloon. While Jessie grabbed the dress from the closet, Bo looked at herself in the long mirror Mrs. Davis had lent her._

"_Do you think I'm ready to get married, Jess?" Bo asked, smoothing her hair._

"_Not without your dress…" the redhead huffed, struggling to get the extravagant dress out._

"_I'm serious… I feel so young… Most women wait until they're at least 22 before they get married."_

"_So what? They haven't found the one yet. You're lucky you found him. Besides, you two have been acting like you're already married anyway. People knew you two would get hitched eventually."_

_Bo smiled. Jessie helped her pull on the elegant dress tailored to look similar to the one her mother had owned._

"_I'll be right back. I'm going to make sure everything is running smoothly," the cowgirl said, hurrying out the door._

"_Are you sure you're not just leaving to see a certain space ranger?" Bo teased._

"_Oh, shut up."_

_As soon as Jessie had left the room, Bo let out a sigh. She'd been able to fake her nerves for a little while, but she couldn't keep her feelings in any longer. The thing was she felt like Woody and she were in two different leagues. He was so much more of a leader than she could ever be. He deserved so much better._

_The thought had come into her head a little bit after she overheard Buzz and Jessie's conversation. She had always thought of convincing Woody to quit his dangerous work as a sheriff, but only now she had realized how much he really loved his job, just like Buzz. Even if he did keep his job, the hazards would no doubt follow him home. And Bo was not brave. He had seen her in situations that she had done stupid things._

_How could he ever be happy with someone like her?_

_Bo rubbed her temples, trying to come up with something reassuring to say to herself. She had given Jessie the excuse of not being ready for marriage because she knew the redhead wouldn't quite understand._

_She loved Woody, with all her heart. But he was a special man, and she would always be a nobody._

_**Calm down Bo. You're overreacting, **she thought sensibly. **Woody loves you and you know it. Today is your wedding day… I wish Father was here, I wish he could tell me what to do…**_

_Bo took a deep breath. She shimmied out of her wedding dress and back into her pastel pink dress._

_She was just going to see her father's grave._

_Her nerves were getting to her head, so she decided that quickly visiting the cemetery would be a good way to clear her mind. She always felt so peaceful there, like she could still feel her father embracing her. And then once she got back, she would be fine. _

_Bo quickly left out the back way, avoiding any people. She didn't want them to think she was really running away, even though she kind of was…_

_**I'm such a coward.**_

_When she finally arrived at the outskirts of town, she was exhausted. She did, after all, need to be back within the hour._

_**It won't take long. I just want to see him.**_

_That was when it happened._

_A sound like thunder and unearthly destruction hit Bo's ears like a knife. She turned around only see piercing scarlet red fire, matching the intensity of the setting sun. Ash and smoke surrounded the town. A wave of intense wind and heat pushed out of the town and met up with her. It knocked her to the ground. She was so shocked, it was like she was paralyzed. It only a few seconds, everything that had ever mattered to her, was gone._

_When Bo finally forced herself upward, she couldn't feel her heart beating anymore. She raced towards the town, the heat and wind and ash stinging her wet eyes._

_Everything was burning._

"_WOODY! BUZZ! JESSIE! ANYONE!" she screamed. Her lungs burned._

_She was coughing uncontrollably. The smog was making her feel weak and woozy… She blacked out._

* * *

_Everything she had ever known as Bo Peep was gone. The rescuers had told her a million times they hadn't found a single soul. She couldn't pick up the pieces. She couldn't imagine life was worth living anymore._

_And so the Porcelain Cowgirl was reborn in the city of Barkings._

_The rim of her hat whipped in the wind. The sun was just kissing the end of the valley. Beyond her lied a desolate canyon. And somewhere out there, a spaceranger travelled in disguise, a cowgirl was waiting for her in a canyon, and a sheriff never stopped loving her._


	57. I forgive you

Author's Notes: Ummmmmmmmm… I just can't say much about this… Just read.

* * *

"Don't do this Alan," Bo whispered. "Please."

She stretched out her hand to him, inviting him to take it.

"You're bleeding… I caused that," Alan said painfully.

"You think because you've made a few mistakes, the only thing you can do is continue making them. You can stop this right now. You don't have to keep doing this."

"I-I…"

Bo kept her hand extended. She searched her brother's eyes for a spark of goodness. His fingers took pressure off the button slightly.

"I promise things will be better. I'll take care of you," she said softly.

He smiled slightly. There he was, her brother. Somehow she found a way not to hate him through of all the horrible, terrible things he had done. They were the only two left in the family. If he was gone, then who would she have? He raised his arm slowly, moving his trembling hand towards hers. When his finger touched hers, their icy skin sparked.

But then Alan's expression quickly changed. "Lotso," he whispered.

The evil man held a pistol in his hands. He aimed it at the two of them, smiling a vicious disgusting smile. "I knew this would happen. I've wanted to kill you a thousand times, but I needed to find your moment of weakness…"

"Lotso, you can't… please, kill me but not her. I've made so many stupid mistakes that I can't take back, but this woman is an angel. She's my only sister," Alan said desperately.

Lotso sneered. "It's way too late for that **Stoneheart,** she will suffer!" He aimed three deadly shots at Alan.

He crumbled to the floor.

"NO!" Bo had no time to mourn, because Lotso kept firing shots. She scurried up the stairs to the next floor of the viewing platform. She glanced back to see the man form a fist and hit the button to send her friends into the incinerator.

"Run along, Ms. Peep! See if you can't find your lost sheep!" Lotso shouted, walking briskly up the stairs.

Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she snuck a look behind her. Lotso might not have been as fast, but he followed closely behind, shooting at her blindly. The stairs went higher into the rooms for the ventilation shafts. She figured her best way to lose the man was to hide among the pipes. But she couldn't wait long, as her friends were headed to their doom.

She tried to breathe.

She tried not to cry.

She tried not to panic.

The large dull colored pipes let her slip past without being too visible. She stopped at a larger one and sat down, clutching her knees to her chest. Bo tried to control her breathing, but found it extremely difficult after bolting up the stairs. She managed to silence herself before Lotso approached the area.

The old man rustled around a little, and then she heard footsteps leading away.

Bo didn't waste any time. She got up quickly but cautiously, listening around the corners. There was only the buzzing of the conveyor belt on the floor below her. She poked her head over a balcony on the top floor, revealing the source of the noise.

There they were. Her friends, desperately trying to escape the fast paced moving floor that pushed them closer to immediate destruction.

Beside her was a pipe that led down to the next floor. She jumped on it and slid down. The conveyor belt was in a deep crevice, and even if her friends could stack themselves up to get out, the belt was moving too fast for anyone to do anything but run.

The sound of the incinerator was getting louder as Bo ran alongside her friends, looking for a way to stop the belt. A red light flashed in the corner of her eye.

Emergency Stop.

That was it! Everything was going to be ok!

Bo ran over to it quickly, and lifted the plastic casing on top of the button. She put her fingers on the button but before she could push it, she was held tightly by the collar, dangling over the conveyor belt. Lotso's bruised and cut face greeted her as she struggled to hang on.

"So this is how the fairytale ends! You softened to your brother, but you lost the hate and anger that fueled your power! Now you're weak, truly Porcelain." Lotso screamed over the incinerator.

"Look at what you're doing Lotso! You had horrible things happen to you, and it was all Alan's fault! But would your wife want you to do this? Would Daisy be proud of her dad being a murderer?" Bo cried, looking strait into his insane black eyes.

She felt his grip releasing. The bitter fire that lied ahead of her seemed closer than ever…

A gun went off.

Lotso's arm swung around, throwing her closer to the wall. She caught a loose pipe hanging over the edge. Her friends were below her now.

They tumbled into the pit.

Lotso's body was on the ground. He was bleeding and unconscious. When he stopped breathing, she suspected he was dead. Bo looked around for the shooter, and spotted Alan on the ground, holding a gun. She scurried over to him.

"Y-you can s-still save them… The c-control room…" he burbled, choking out blood. Bo kissed him on the forehead.

"I forgive you," she whispered.

Bo ran up a different flight of stairs, remembering where she had seen the control room earlier. She took a glance down at her friends. They all struggled to get out of the horrible steep trench into an unforgiving fire. Upon finding the room, she ripped the door open and hurled herself inside. She saw so many electrical panels and complicated mechanisms…

She happened to glance at her friends through the glass window in her flurry.

They had given up.

One by one, they held hands, never taking their eyes from the jaws of death itself. How could they just give up? There had to be something they could do… But yet, just the sight of them admitting defeat affected Bo harshly. For years she had nightmares about the moment she turned around to see her town, and everyone that mattered to her, go up in flames. Now they were literally about to do just that. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, trying to tear her view away from the addictive and out of control fire…

It was hopeless.

She looked down at the ground crying the hardest she had ever cried She rested her hand on one of the several buttons.

This was it. They approached the fire. Her fingers clutched the casing she was resting her hand on. _CRANE_ was inscribed on it…

Bo gasped. She yanked off its plastic casing and found a series of simple enough controls. The hatch above the incinerator opened, flooding in a cool bright blue light. She moved the steering mechanism down, catching her friends just as they faced the fire, and a good amount of trash with them

She was still crying, but a small smile crept on her face as she moved them closer to the window that separated them. They looked so worried, and definitely surprised, but there they were, safe and sound, still holding hands.

Really, all she was paying attention to was those deep chocolate brown eyes. She waved and then moved the crane down through another large hatch where it was labeled _CRANE BAY. _It would automatically drop its contents in there.

She didn't really know how she had the strength to get out of the room, but something kept her going. Love.

Bo staggered down the stairs from the control room, breathing for the first time in ages. She clutched the railing for support, following the corridor to a door leading to where it was labeled the same as where she had dropped off her friends. A million things were racing through her mind. She thought about just sitting down and crying, but there were arms waiting for her, just at the end of the hallway. Her hand absently turned the handle of the door, and on the other side of the huge room, they were dusting themselves off. Jessie was holding Buzz's hand, and they kissed. The Potatoheads, Rex, and Hamm laughed. Bo couldn't possibly imagine what was funny about the situation, but a load was pulled off her chest as she saw Slinky and Woody talking.

Slinky was the first to notice Bo, across the way. He pointed her out, and the others looked on with delight. Woody's chocolate brown eyes melted through her soul. She started out nervously at first, but then she started to run as fast as she could. Butterflies filled her stomach as Woody started running too.

The gap between them seemed to go on forever, but whatever it was, it was worth it. She was going to be in his arms again. She would be with him again.

A gun shot.

Bo stopped.

She blinked. Woody was yelling something, but she couldn't tell what. Moving was impossible. Her legs were going numb. She started falling, as the world became more and more fuzzy. Her head hurt as it slammed onto the hard ground, and her side felt like it was exploding.

Lotso… He was waiting for her. A malicious grin was across his face as he staggered out of the shadows. He took his last breath and then collapsed.

Woody finally got to her. He fell to the ground and laid her head softly on his lap, shouting things that Bo couldn't quite make out. Others started to run behind him, but they were completely blurred. She turned her baby blue eyes up at his chocolate brown ones.

She was with him, at last.

"Don't leave me… Please…" she could barely make out.

"I-I'm h-happy now, y-you're, here w-with me," Bo burbled.

"Bo you have to s-stay with me. You're going to be fine. We'll get Star Command to help, and then we're going home."

"Home…"

Bo finally closed her eyes his image freshly engraved in her mind. It didn't matter what happened now. Feeling his warmth on her cold skin was worth more than any number of gashes and wounds in the world.


	58. She looked away

Author's Notes:…

* * *

"H-hi Bo. I don't think you can hear me, but I'm still here. I didn't break my promise after all.

"Of course I had to wait a week or two. It's been a… nightmare. The couches for one, in the lobby, are not comfortable in any way. And… I couldn't stop thinking about you. The others are all here too, but they're giving me a few minutes alone with you. We're all worried sick. I know you're clinging to life right now…

"Buzz told me everything. I'm so… sorry. You are so, brave. If I had been in your place… Well, I couldn't believe you were gone when Jess told me you'd killed yourself. I kept on hoping you were out there somewhere, away from trouble.

"Little did I know, you were right in the middle of trouble. I managed to escape Alan for awhile, wondering where you were. But then, you remember that day when you met Dolly and the others at the saloon in that county? I saw you come in. I came so close to coming over to you, until I found a gun in my back. I left my hat behind hoping you'd find it.

"And, well, everything went wrong. The bandits invaded, and you know the rest…

"And then when I saw you for a sliver of a moment, with your brother… I won't tell you what Lotso did to us. You've heard enough suffering. You deserve better.

"I've sat in that poorly lit lobby, thinking so much in the few past days. The world below us goes on without knowing the things you've done for them. I've had a lot of help from the others, continuing on with life.

"I don't know if you still love me Bo. But I'll tell you that I knew from the moment I saw you in that bar back home, the moment I gazed into your eyes, I loved you. And though it seems everything in the universe strives to tear us apart, I won't ever stop loving you.

"E-even if this is the last time I s-see you…

* * *

"They let me come and see you again. The doctors say that you're doing a lot better now, aside from the whole… y'know, coma thing… So tomorrow they're transporting us home, getting you to a little hospital based by Star Command on Earth. It's close to where our town used to be. It will be wonderful to be back on our soil again. I've grown tired of looking out the window and seeing stars.

"The other day I talked to all the refugees from town. It was really nice to see old faces again. Most of them are moving on. They're going on to different towns. And… the Davis' are leaving for the city. It's going to be hard to get over that… I don't want them to go, but there really is nothing left for them in the old town. I said goodbye to them yesterday. I wish I could be with them, especially Andy, but I know where I'm needed right now.

"As for the rest of us, Buzz and Jess are never seen without each other, of course.; the Potatoheads still bicker every other second; Hamm is still a know it all; Rex is always wringing his hands, and Slink is still as loyal as ever. We're all so concerned about you, despite the extreme differences in opinions we have. I can't help thinking about what it will be like when you wake up. The group has decided to help rebuild the town run by Mayor Anderson, the same town I saw you at. Buzz already has some friends there, so that will help us get settled. It's called White Oaks.

"It's strange… starting over. We've been through so much in the past five years. I've made a million mistakes over my lifetime, and somehow I think this is the time to redeem myself. And above all, I'm going to be protecting you. I know you don't like to feel like you're useless, and you've proved to me that you are so capable of handling yourself, but if anything ever happened to you again… I wouldn't know what to do with myself anymore…"

* * *

Woody sat down in his new home, on a new chair, next to a new desk. It wasn't the same warm feeling he had back home, but maybe that was because…she wasn't there.

"Knock knock," said a familiar voice from the door.

"Hey Jess," Woody replied, smiling slightly.

"You've been sitting in this dark cold room all day! Don't you wanna down to the bar? Everyone's there…" the redhead asked shivering.

"Nah, that's ok. Go on without me."

"Woody… it's been a month now. This isn't healthy."

There was a tense pause between the two. The sheriff sighed, and shook his head.

"It's been more than a month. It's been over five years, Jessie. How would you feel if you hadn't seen Buzz for that long?" he stated, slicing the silence in the room.

"We're just… worried about you. She's gonna be ok, but right now we've gotta live without her. If she knew this was how you were acting…" Jessie said timidly.

"I'm sick of being helpless. There is literally nothing I can do to help her! I'm sorry if I can't accept that very well!"

"She was right about you being too overprotective…"

"Don't you care about her at all?"

"How dare you say that! She was my best friend too Woody! I wish I could do something as much as you, but the fact is, we can't. Nothing is going to change that, especially you sitting in this stupid dark room! You're slipping, and none of us can help you. I'm angry, and confused, because my only family member is hurt and for the life of me I can't do anything about it! The same feelings you're feeling about Bo, I feel about you, because you're distancing yourself from us!" Jessie shouted, feeling her temper rising up.

"You don't understand. No one does. You want to know why I sit in here all day? It's because I care about all of you, and I don't want to blow up in your faces because you're right, I am hurt. More than that, I was this close to protecting her from Lotso, and I was too late!" A tear formed in his eye.

Jessie looked at her brother with big round eyes. She let tears run freely, as she ran and hugged him. "It's not your fault, it's not your fault…"

* * *

They sat in the cold darkness, crying together.

Bo's eyes burst open. She jerked upward, finding that her left side exploded and sent ripples of pain down her spine. She groaned and placed her hand on the tightly woven bandage that covered it.

Bo looked around furiously at her surroundings. It looked to be only a simple country hospital. She had been to a similar place to visit her father when he had surgery when she was younger. She found yellow daisy's on the table next to her. It was a bright atmosphere, despite all the questions she had.

Suddenly the door opened, and in walked a doctor. He looked up from his paperwork to be surprised by Bo's awakening.

"My goodness! You're lively this morning! How are you feeling?" he said, getting somewhat uncomfortably close to her, checking her pulse.

"I feel pretty exhausted, actually… but for the most part, fine…" she replied, leaning back again

"Then get some rest, my dear. I'll have someone check on you periodically. In the meantime, I think you have some friends who have been waiting to see you… Think you're up to that?"

She nodded.

Time went by slowly, but the doctor finally came in again after what seemed like hours, being followed by many happy faces. In the front, particularly, there was a redhead in cowhide chaps, a man with dusty brown hair and a cotton shirt, and a man with a worn down sheriff's badge pinned proudly on his vest, with the deepest chocolate brown eyes.

Bo smiled politely, and then asked, "Who are all of you?"

Their faces dropped immediately. The sheriff looked at the cowgirl with a bit of panic in his eye.

"Bo… it's me… can't you remember?" he asked timidly.

"I'm very sorry, but I can't remember much about what happened before I got here… I'm not even sure how I got hurt…" Bo replied sadly.

"What's the last thing you can remember?" the man with the dusty brown hair asked urgently.

"Well… I had just sold my father's farm. He died not too long ago. I didn't think I was old enough to take care of it… I was going to move to a different town, but everything after that is fuzzy…" They looked at each other with wide eyes, not speaking a word.

She studied each of their faces. There was something about them, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Bo felt like a spark flowed up through her heart, but it started to hurt, in a way she couldn't describe.

She looked away.

"I'm really sorry I can't remember… I feel really weak all of the sudden, like being with you is really exhausting… and it hurts…" Bo said, rubbing her head.

Finally the doctor intervened. "She's had enough excitement for one afternoon. I'll need to have a word with you in the hallway," he said sternly.

They shuffled out of the room with broken spirits. The sheriff stole a glance back at her, and their eyes locked for a moment, but she pulled away. The doctor started to close the door behind him, but it cracked open slightly. She could hear his conversation with the others.

"Why can't she remember us? She remembers everything before that…" asked a very dominant female voice.

"She has a special form of amnesia, a type called post traumatic selective amnesia disorder. She's had an especially hard time over the last six years I can only assume. A gunshot wound isn't just carelessly given, at least not this one" the doctor replied.

**Six years? What had happened in the last six years?** Bo thought. **And a gunshot wound? W-who tried to… kill me? **

The doctor continued. "Your faces are unfortunately associated with grief and sorrow, and her brain has blocked any memory of you to protect her."

"Can't you help her remember? There must be something that can jog her memory," said a male know-it-all type of voice.

"We have many methods to help cure amnesia, but the real question is if you want to be forcing her to remember…"

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't we want her to remember?" said another female voice with a slight southern drawl.

"Because, to make her remember is to force her to go through all those horrible emotions at once, all over again. It is even possible that she might be damaged mentally, if she recovers her memory. She may never be stable enough to be limited outside of careful watch if that happens"

"You mean to tell us that we've been waiting all this time for nothing?" asked the same female.

"We can take care of her, set her up in a new town with a fresh start where she could be happy, or you could permanently mess with her brain. I'd advise you not to visit again, for the chance that something might trigger her memories."

"If you think we're just going to leave her behind, you've got another thing coming. There is no way-"

"-Jess…" interrupted what sounded like the sheriff. "J-just let it go. It wouldn't be fair to d-do that to her…"

An eerie silence followed.

"I'm very sorry… I wish you the best. We will take care of her, I promise," the doctor said solemnly.

And after that, Bo assumed they left because she couldn't hear anything anymore. She tried to distinguish her feelings, but it was extremely hard because half of her wanted earnestly to remember her past, but the other half could still feel the pangs of sorrow looming in her heart. The rest of the afternoon she spent in the melancholy room, alone and confused. She literally had no one to confide in. She had no friends, other than the ones who were the key to her life mystery, and she had let them be sent away.

Bo stopped speaking altogether after her second week of being awake. She knew her identity, and what she had been like before she forgot six years of her life. The problem was she didn't know who she was now. She was a pretty face on the outside, but a hollow porcelain doll on the inside, which could crack at any mention of what she had forgotten.

She was trapped in her own tortuous thoughts.


	59. It was him

Author's Notes: Thank you guys so much again for being with me till the end! Love you!

* * *

She was finally getting married.

Bo Peep had waited for this day for so terribly long, and now it was here. So if she was so anxious about it, why did she have a tiny doubt in the back of her mind?

It had been two years since she left the hospital. She lived in the city now, which wasn't as good as living in the country, but her fiancé had an important job that he couldn't bear to leave behind. He was perfectly grounded, and that was good, right? She'd never have to worry about him pulling any dangerous stunts.

His name was William, and he was the very first person she met after her horrible experience at the hospital. He had very stuffy parents, who disapproved of Bo very much. His mother had deep frown wrinkles permanently shaped into her sharp face. His father was somewhat grotesquely big bellied, but the bank owner considered that to be one of his best traits.

Sometimes Bo had doubts about Will. He was tall and lanky, and had plain brown eyes to match his plain brown hair, but something drew her to him from the beginning. It wasn't that he was particularly handsome because he wasn't, but he reminded her of someone: the sheriff at the hospital two years ago.

Bo thought it was strange she was completely obsessed with this man who she once knew. She had never seen or heard from him ever since the evening she woke up. William by coincidence looked a lot like him. She knew she liked Will for the wrong reasons, and tried to tell him several times, but he just didn't listen. He had already married and divorced two other women.

The truly horrible thing was she knew Will didn't love her, just like how he didn't love his other wives. He only had interest in her looks, like she was an award. And Bo knew this all from the very beginning of their relationship, she knew the outcome, and she knew the bitter consequences. Yet, she waited for their wedding day anxiously, trying to experience one moment of happiness in her depressing life.

It was his entire fault, that sheriff, who haunted her continually. The way he looked when he found out Bo didn't remember him was the only thing she could see when she closed her eyes. He was ruining her life, without intentionally doing so, even to the point where she was about to marry a man she didn't even love.

* * *

The morning of the wedding, she sat in front of her mirror combing her soft locks with a beautiful silver brush Will had bought for her. She practiced smiling, to make it seem like she was somewhat happy on the dreaded day. Every time she flashed those fake looks at herself, Bo Peep became more and more like an emotionless Porcelain Doll.

Porcelain…

Bo shrugged off the chills she felt after hearing that word and continued to brush her hair until there was a soft knock at the door.

"Will, you know you can't see the bride before the wedding; it's bad luck," Bo called out with an irritated tone.

"Erm… I'm not Will, but may I come in?" said a very different voice. It was silky smooth and sweet as honey.

Bo paused for a moment, and hesitantly said 'yes.'

A trembling hand turned the knob, and the tall figure poked his head in slowly.

It was him.

That man, with deep chocolate brown eyes matching his hair, with the kindest look on his face and genuine happiness following him, trailing a bit of sadness in the corners of his eyes, that man stood at the door with a frightened expression and wobbly knees. Bo stared at him with eyes as wide as dishes.

"What are you doing here? H-how did you find me?" she asked clutching her elegant cream wedding dress.

"B-Bo, I just-"

"No! Enough! I don't know you! Don't say my name!" she interrupted.

He looked very hurt.

"Please… I've come a very long way. At least let me say what I came here to tell you," the sheriff said, extending a hand out.

Bo bit her lip. She nodded, and tried to avoid his eyes. The only increased the growing pit in her stomach every second she was with him.

He took of his hat and sighed. "I know it's not fair to do this to you. The doctor warned me of horrible consequences if I mentioned anything from your past…"

Bo's eyes widened. She remembered that conversation in the hallway that day in the hospital. Her heart raced.

"But I just had to let you know that exactly eight years ago, this was our wedding day. Nothing you do will ever stop me from loving you, even if you do decide to marry another, but I'm letting you go now. I've had a friend watch over you the past two years, but I just can't do this anymore… So this is our final goodbye."

He was crying.

Bo wished so desperately she would have said something, anything at all. She tried opening her mouth, but nothing came out, because there was nothing to say. Bo once knew this man, and loved him, but she couldn't remember him now.

And he walked out of the room.

She didn't stop him.

* * *

Two hours remained before her wedding. She sat in front of the mirror for ages, not moving a muscle. She was thinking about absolutely nothing. It was like she was dead, because subconsciously, her soul had died.

Bo stared into mirror, not looking at anything in particular until her eyes crossed an object on the table that wasn't there before…

She turned around and stood up curiously. It was the sheriff's hat, brown and worn out. She picked it up delicately, turning it over.

It felt so familiar in her hands…

She gasped and stumbled backward. There was an image in her mind, and then another, and then another, until bits and pieces of her lost memories danced around her head drawing from the hat she still held tightly.

They were there, in the town. She was about to get married and all of her friends were suddenly gone. She ran away and they were taken. She was the Porcelain Cowgirl…

Chance… and Jane… Buzz and Jessie… The Davis' and Woody…

Bo remembered everything, but as she did, she found it harder and harder to breath. She was so angry at herself, for her mistakes, and especially for almost marrying someone she didn't love. Woody was right there in front of her! And she just let him walk away. He was never coming back…

She was crying on the floor, holding the hat pressed to her chest. Her breathing became more and more violent, until she just stopped altogether. It was a panic attack.

Bo didn't know how long she was on the floor, tears spilling into the puddle on the ground, but after days of laying there, a familiar click on the wood floor sounded outside the room, and someone jiggled the door handle.

"I-I'm sorry, I left my ha- Bo?!"

Woody's reassuring face appeared in front of hers. He was back! Was this a dream?

"Woody?" she murmured, not finding the strength to say anything else. Bo smiled weakly.

He looked surprised, but started to smile back, and then he cradled her in his arms on the floor. Bo felt safe at last in his arms again. She kissed him like she had longed to do for the past eight years. And they sat there, kissing and laughing and crying.

Bo Peep had finally reunited with lost sheriff, and she was finally going home.

* * *

One more chapter. YAY!


	60. Bo Peep Pride

Author's Notes: Oh GAWRSH. I've been super occupied with life lately, plus I've written this ending about five dozen times. I've never been good at endings, EVER. I think as an elementary school kid it was hardwired into my brain to end with "Finally…" or "In conclusion…" I just can't do it. So this prolly really cheesy and ridiculous, but I kept making pointless drama in former drafts, so I tried to just keep it short and simple. I hope you like? :)

* * *

"Everyone's waiting! Bo, what on Earth is taking so long in there? I couldn't get my mother to check on you herself, and it was pretty humiliating having to walk back down that aisle. It's extremely unprofessional…" Will said knocking on his fiancé's door furiously.

There was a silence.

William's face became redder and redder as he stood impatiently. He finally clasped his hand on the handle and swung the door wide open.

"You've got some real explain- what the devil?"

The room was dark, and empty. A note written in cursive was left for him on the table. He picked it up and read it to himself.

_William,_

_I have no doubt you will be incredibly upset when you read this, not because you will miss me, but you will fear your reputation as a selfish heartthrob. That is precisely the reason I cannot marry you today; that, and I have found my love again and I'm going home. I would not have written the note besides the fact that you obviously need some advice about true love. Admittedly we are all faulty of mistreating those four letters. In some forms we are too afraid to confess our love for others, or we drive our love away because we've been hurt. On the other side, there are those like you who give away their hearts carelessly. I write this in earnest hope that one day you will meet a girl who has the same affectionate feelings towards you that you hold for her. I've made many mistakes in my lifetime, but my time of redemption has come, and it can't take place here._

_Good luck in life,_

_ Bo Peep Pride_

_P.S. Please do something about your horrid mother. No respectable lady will ever be able to associate with that woman._

* * *

"I'll admit, that part about his mother was a bit harsh…" Woody said, grinning.

"If you'd met the woman, you'd agree with me," Bo replied, laughing. He lifted her up on his horse behind him.

"So shepherdess, where would like to go?"

"Mmm, how about I get somebody to watch the sheep tonight, sheriff?"

* * *

Hey once again, thanks so much for reading this! Even if you've already reviewed, I'd love to hear one last word just to see how I did. There were definitely some things I failed at… like time management… -o-; But yup.

Yours forever,

Heather (hpmoofrog)


	61. Author's Announcement

Ok guys, I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I wanted to get the word out for a big announcement.

I have never really thought about doing a sequel to Porcelain Cowgirl... until about a month ago. I wasn't about ready to give up the world that I'd been imagining for about two years now. There were TONS of ideas that I had to toss out because it interrupted the flow of the story or I just couldn't use. I've started developing two new stories following up with the events at the end of Porcelain Cowgirl.

What I really want from you guys is if there is something that you are dying to see more of, or anything lacking from the previous story, please let me know! I'm really excited for this. It's gonna take up some time to get the story together, but I really appreciate all the support I've received for this story and other stories that I've written. I read every single review that I get, and I love each one of them. I should really respond to each of them but I'm lazy... :/

Derp. Ok enough of that. Love you guys much!

Heather. :)f


	62. Author's Announcement 2

Hey guys! Long time no see!

So it's finally up guys! The sequel to The Porcelain Cowgirl, The Black Star, is finally being posted. Hopefully I'll try and update it weekly, but we'll see how fast I can write.

This story is focusing more on The Defenders of the Black Star, which I didn't really get the chance to talk more about in the Porcelain Cowgirl because it wasn't as applicable. I'm sorry the development took so long for the story, but I wanted to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing.

Thanks again for your support!

Heather. :)


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